Sexually Transmitted Diseases Community

Have you looked into supressive therapy? Daily Valtrex or Acylovir can reduce the number of outbreaks you get.

For herpes info, read the herpes handbook link in my signature.

Some folks feel that these products help with healing of lesions but neither of them have been shown in good studies to prevent ob's. When it comes to herpes, depending on what your situation is, it's reducing viral shedding that is the priority, not just the number of ob's you have.

personally both of these products are way too overpriced too.

yes, but have you used them.? im in the midst of my first outbreak wich i have been fighting for 23 days now. im on my second round of valtrex because the first ten days didn't heal me. im still experiencing new sores and lesions. i have hsv-2. so if these products heal open sores then that is what i need.

I'm not sure on the products you mention.... but these tips helped me:

First Outbreak Helps

The first ob can be a doozy. What are you trying for pain relief? Don't hesitate to sit with an ice pack in between your legs too if you need to. Unless you have a medical reason not to - try alternating tylenol with ibuprofen for pain relief comparable to some narcotics - ie tylenol 1000 mg at 6 am, 600 mg advil at 9, tylenol at noon, advil at 3 am etc. Also look for dermoplast spray (the blue can for the genital area, (not the red can) or another topical anesthetic spray ask you pharmacist (Courtesy of Betsy1967)

Keep the affected area as dry as possible and wear no underwear (if possible) to let the air get at the area. The dryer that you keep the area the faster it will heal. When coming out of the shower use your hair dryer on a lower setting to dry the area so that way you do not have to rub it with a towel (Courtesy of NicoleRB)

Apply cornstarch by sprinkling it on to the affected area as cornstarch helps to keep the area dry. (Abe)

To decrease the itching at night and to get a good nights sleep take Benadryl before bed time to get that good nights sleep. (Courtesy of Alex 71194)

Finally if going to the bathroom is painful run water over the area, urinate in a tub or shower. All these help to dilute the acid in the urine.

If you have a lesion in an area that is causing a lot of pain and if it is so positioned that by putting a finger or two on it then put some thing on your hand and cover the area by pressing down and covering the area which will make it less painful to go to the bathroom. (Courtesy of Betsy1967)

To make you feel better as well bath in either Aveeno or Epson (sp?) salts to sooth your aching body. (Courtesy of Betsy1967)

Idk about the medicines that you mentioned. But if anyone on here knows anything it would be Terri or Betsy. Regardless, 23 days seems a bit long for a herpes outbreak. You might want to schedule an appointment with a doctor regarding this. There is a good possibility that it could be something else.

No I"ve never used them. I won't spend that sort of money on a topical when I have lots of other options that are way cheaper.

In folks I know who have tried them, they think they are fine as a topical but don't see any relief as far as reducing future ob's or anything.

Buy a box of epsom salts and soak in the tubby with that 2x/day. WAY cheaper and gives you similar relief. You can also make compresses out of domeboro's solution too for far less money than either of these products and it does the same thing basically.

Your ob is soon over - don't waste your money on either of these products at this point.

im 24 days and counting, on my second script of valtrex and i still have yellow oozing from the testicles, and fresh bumps and legions. some of my original bumps on he upper thigh seem to be scabbing, and drying up but everything else is still raw and wet. im in extreme discomfort. i know the first outbreak is supposed to be the worst, but im scared to death this won't go away. i have been reading some horror stories on here of people who have almost permanent herpes even with suppressive therapy... i need advice and help. please!

Take the advice of AmyMarie53 and go and be seen by your Doc and get tested with a swab/culture and make sure the Doc "types it" so you will know what it is when the results come back. This most likely is not herpes or all herpes if it has been 24 days. Could be many other things going on. SEE YOUR DOC!!

so back to my case. i started coughing yellow flem on the first. red bumps and itching within a few days (by the 3rd), i ended up in the emergency room on the 8th, by then i had full blown open lesions and rawness... they stuck a stick in the head of my penis. (wich i thought was a swab test to go out to the lab) then they told me i had hsv-2 and sent me home with a valtrex prescription. 2 days later i saw my primary doctor who said it would go away in time and to finish my medicine, she wrote it up as hsv-2.i completed the script with very little relief. and 2 days afterwards i was still experiencing open lesions. not knowing what to do i called in for a refill and began my second script of valtrex wich i am still currently finishing up, 3 more days at this point. the open lesions were pretty much gone as of yesterday wich had me hopeful, but this morning there is a new one on my shaft. the bumps have spread as far up as my belly button and a few on the tops of my hands. the ones on the tops of my hands are drying up, but some of the ones on the belly button area are fresh and some are drying up or older. my testicles seem to be doing better as they were the worst open area and most uncomfortable for the longest... i went to the emergency room yesterday to ask them to send the results of my testing to my primary doctor and they told me 15 business days. meanwhile my primary told me she can't do anything further until she receives those records and so she referred me to a dermatologist. this is my first outbreak ever, and i know i didn't begin treatment till 8 days into infection, but at this point im very scared and loosing hope. do you know any specialists in philadelphia pa? what do u think at this point? should i go to the dermatologist? it is now day 27, my coughing yellow flem began on the 1st. also notable, my coughing yellow flem went away on about the 12th and came back about 5-6 days later, wich made me think i was experiencing a second round of attack or a new outbreak even though the old one was not fully healed...? all advice is appreciated. PLEASE!

Herpes will not spread around your body like this. You definitely need follow up with a dermatologist. I don't recommend going to the ER - they aren't good at rashes. Your provider didn't just call for your ER results from the initial visit? No reason to get them mailed - they can read them to her over the phone or even fax them faster. You too have every right under hipaa guidelines to receive the results too so they can report them to you too. Specifically ask for your herpes test results. Have them read them and write down the results.

Coughing up yellow phlegm is completely unrelated to your genital area. It's THAT time of the year when everyone is catching colds and such. Follow up with your regular provider though for that since it's been going on for almost a month now.

I think the Medavir product really works well. In fact my wife and I have both used it and I have not had a real outbreak in nearly 9 months-- I get sore and red in the areas every so often (like just before you see the sores prodromal time) and put that stuff on it and I dont get any sores taht actually break thru the skin. The area still gets tender and red but that is much better than active sores. I really was reluctant to try it because most of the internet is filled BS products. I remember the company offered a guarantee that refunded shipping charges you paid, AND paid the postage to return it if you are unsatisfied, not sure if they still offer that but I thought that was very cool. Also the medavir company had like a 10 year perfect record (no customerr complaints) with the better business bureau so I figured others would be complaining if Medavir did not work (no way they would have a perfect record). Anyway we took the chance, YMMV but it seems to work much better than anything else we have tried.

ive been taking valtrex for genital obreaks and seems to work down therebut ive been getting bumps on my lips and around my mouth. the derm says its jus acne but i notice tingling and sometimes it feels like something's "crawling" on my face. Im pretty sure it's an outbreak. I never got bumps around my mouth before i was diagnosed. They look like jus regular pimples not cold sores, but dont seem to respond to acne meds. Can coldsores be pimples around the mouth and what can i use to prevent it? Im also using abreva but doesnt seem to work either.

Abreva doesn't do much for cold sores either. It only heals then less than a day sooner than using a placebo. Not a lot of bang for the lots of bucks they charge for that teeny tube of it.

The dermatologist doesn't think that this is oral herpes going on. If you aren't getting relief with acne treatments, return for further recommendations from the derm doc.

You poor thing. I hope you have gotten relief since this last posting. I myself have been struggling with constant oubreaks. I'll be in the clear for a couple of months and then it seems constant for a month or two. I just went to my Dr. today to see if I have a bacterial infection causing this constant outbreak. I hope that's what it is and I can take an antibiotic and help clear all this up. I am willing to try anything so I just ordered the medavir. It's expensive but I can't stand these constant outbreaks either. I have read and heard great things about it so I'm taking the $79 chance.

I really liked all the suggestions from people on this site. I'm definitely going to try them. And I'll let you know if the medavir is worth it or not.