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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffGenital herpes treatment includes oral prescription antiviral medications, such as acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir) and valacyclovir (Valtrex).
There's no cure for genital herpes. But with treatment, you might:
- Help sores heal sooner during an initial outbreak
- Lessen the severity and duration of symptoms in recurrent outbreaks
- Reduce the frequency of recurrences
- Minimize the chance of transmitting the herpes virus to another
Your doctor may recommend that you take the medicine only when you're experiencing symptoms of an outbreak (episodic therapy). Or your doctor may recommend that you take a medicine daily, even when you're not experiencing any signs of an outbreak, to minimize your chances of recurrent outbreaks (suppressive therapy). Suppressive therapy usually is recommended if you experience five or more outbreaks per year. But because these medications have proven very safe and effective, people with even fewer outbreaks per year are opting for daily, suppressive therapy.
- Goade D. Genital herpes. In: Cohen J, et al. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/130330290-4/0/1209/247.html?tocnode=49353813&fromURL=247.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02407-6..50078-7_2618. Accessed April 7, 2009.
- Gupta R, et al. Genital herpes. Lancet. 2007;370:2127.
- Albrecht MA. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of genital herpes simplex virus infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 7, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2006;55:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5511a1.htm. Accessed April 8, 2009.
- Xu F, et al. Trends in herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 seroprevalence in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006;296:964.
- Wald A. Prevention of genital herpes virus infections. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 7, 2009.
- Genital herpes. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp054.cfm. Accessed April 6, 2009.
