What are the Best Treatments for Herpes Sores? The CBCD Reviews the Scientific Literature

The latest survey, conducted by the Center for the Biology of Chronic Diseases (CBCD), found that many respondents with a herpes infection wanted to know about the best herpes treatments available. The following information presents a review of the current scientific literature.

Herpes treatment methods are divided into oral and topical. Another division is drugs and dietary supplements.

About Drugs: WebMD notes that, “Treatment with antiviral drugs can help people who are bothered by genital herpes outbreaks stay symptom-free longer. These drugs can also reduce the severity and duration of symptoms when they do flare up. Drug therapy is not a cure, but it can make living with the condition easier. There are three major (oral) drugs commonly used to treat genital herpes symptoms: acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), and valacyclovir (Valtrex). These are all taken in pill form. Severe cases may be treated with the intravenous (IV) drug acyclovir.” (See WebMD, last reviewed on August 6, 2012) (1).

However, “their effectiveness is limited. For instance, a meta-analysis of five placebo-controlled and two dose comparison studies evaluated the effect of aciclovir, famciclovir or valaciclovir on symptoms. The meta-analysis showed that oral antiviral therapy decreases the duration and the associated pain of an outbreak by merely one day.” (See Pharmacology & Pharmacy, from September 2013) (2).

About topical remedies: Some topical antiviral remedies claim on their websites to reduce itching and inflammation associated with blisters and itchy skin eruptions. These websites also claim that these topical herpes remedies also relieve burning, stinging pain and swelling, and help heal cracking and bleeding. In contrast to these claims, WebMD notes that “Formulas applied to the surface of the skin provide little benefit, and doctors don’t usually recommend them (1).” Therefore, the CBCD recommends looking for scientific support for the claims on these websites.

About oral remedies: Many doctors may prescribe a natural product that was shown to work in published clinical studies. As far as we know, there are only two remedies that fit this description. These studies were conducted by Hanan Polansky and Edan Itzkovitz from the CBCD, and published in the peer reviewed medical journal Pharmacy & Pharmacology.

Interested individuals can view the two published studies on natural antiviral products here, https://cbcd.net/Gene-Eden-VIR-Clinical-Study.php and https://cbcd.net/Gene-Eden-VIR-Decreases-Fatigue-Clinical-Study.php.

More information about these treatments can be found on the Center’s website at: https://www.cbcd.net/herpes-cures-that-work.php

The Center for the Biology of Chronic Disease (https://www.cbcd.net) is a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) 3 of the IRS tax code. The center’s mission is to advance the research on the biology of chronic disease and to accelerate the discovery of a cure for these diseas

About CBCD

About CBCD

The Center for the Biology of Chronic Disease (https://www.cbcd.net) is a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) 3 of the IRS tax code. The center’s mission is to advance the research on the biology of chronic disease and to accelerate the discovery of a cure for these diseases. The CBCD first published Dr. Hanan Polansky’s highly acclaimed “Purple” book, entitled “Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease” in 2003. In this book, he explains how foreign DNA fragments can cause many major diseases. The book has been read by more than 5,000 scientists around the world, and has been reviewed in more than 20 leading scientific journals. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.