Archive for May, 2008
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
The antiviral medications available in pill form (acyclovir, valacyclovir, famciclovir) have been specifically developed for the treatment of genital herpes. However, it is not uncommon for health care providers to prescribe the antiviral drugs to those who have frequent or severe outbreaks of oral herpes. A recent study found ...
Posted in Herpes Treatment | No Comments »
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
There are three antiviral medications that are FDA-approved for the treatment of genital herpes:
Acyclovir
The oldest antiviral medication for herpes is acyclovir. Acyclovir is available as a generic drug and is also sold under the brand name Zovirax. It has been available since 1982 in a topical form (as an ...
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Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are very sensitive tests (meaning they are very good at detecting the virus if it is present). While PCR testing is likely to replace the viral culture in the future, PCR are not as readily available as culture at many sites and there are no ...
Posted in Testing Herpes | No Comments »
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
There are currently four FDA-approved, gG-based blood tests that can give accurate results for herpes. Like any blood test, these tests cannot determine whether the site of infection is oral or genital. However, since most cases of genital herpes are caused by HSV-2, a positive result for type-2 antibodies ...
Posted in Testing Herpes | No Comments »