Here’s another site for herpes viruses from Merck: http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section9/chapter105/105b.htm
Apparently, canker sores are not caused by a herpes virus. Hey, do your own searching from now on: http://www.merck.com
>> Shingles is caused by herpes simplex:
Barbitu8, either you are mistaken or you mispoke. That page says what everybody agrees on: Shingles is caused by Herpes Zoster.
I am just wondering if the drugs erffective against Simplex would also be effective against Zoster.
I’m sorry that the Lysine doesn’t work for you guys- it’s like magic for me and a few of my friends. But I just use it when I get that initial flare-up, or when I think I might need it (after being in the sun too long, stressed, etc.). What has helped me the most is the Vitamin B. I take a multi-B pill every day, and since then, I only get flare-ups once a year- MAX. I just went through a flare-up last week (killed it with Lysine in, oh, 6 hours- I tell ya, it’s magic) and that was the first one since I went back home for vacation, June 2000 (a 3 week vacation where I forgot to bring my vitamins).
Vitamin B is cheap. It’s good for stress and your immune system, as well as helpful when dieting (or so my doctor told me). You can get a shot from your doctor that lasts for 3 or 6 months for less than $20(?), or you can take the pill every night. I found that it took a few months of regular intake to build up my resistence with it, but it was well worth it.
If you are plagued with cold sores I implore you to try it for at least 6 months; my life is so much happier now. I used to get a bad cold sore once every other month that would last for over a week- it sucked. Now, I don’t really even think about it.
Hope it helps-
-Tcat
To add to the vitamin crowd - low vitamin C can contribute to outbreaks. Since I started taking extra C I’ve had many fewer outbreaks and those have been less severe. I guess one of the messages on this thread is that it’s important to get your vitamins! If not from your diet, then from elsewhere.
Yes, they DO use acyclovir on herpes zoster aka shingles, at least they did when my dad had an outbreak. They also use it on chicken pox, too (which makes sense, it also being zoster). Apparently it is effective against any herpes virus.
Purlip is a product I got for free on an offer via Medline. It should be available in stores now. I haven’t had a “for-real” cold sore in ages and ages, but when something or other seemed like it was on the way, I tried the product and it seemed to work quite well.
Regrettably, I did once have zoster/shingles years ago. Apparently, something aggrivates the virus in the affected nerves causing swelling, which causes further aggrivation, etc. They tried to break the cycle with codine, etc. to no effect. I found almost immediate relief in plain ice. Within a few days, all was well. It (the diesase) did leave some scarring, though.
how come some people get cold sores and other people never get them?
states that acyclovir is effective against shingles (herpes zoster). I would guess that Curasore is also effective.
I read the Merck thing late at night for me (and I was going to bed, so I must’ve misread it). I remember reading some time ago that herpes zoster is the cause of shingles, so I checked the above link.
I get a lot less cold sores now than when I was younger and I do take a lot of Vitamin C every day (about a gram of powder vitamin C). However, I also read that as you grow older you tend to get less of them, so I don’t know if the C is the reason.
Have you not been paying attention? Some people are infected with the virus and others aren’t.
Actually, we have been through this before in this forum. Here are some of my comments to posts so far:
[[They can be treated much more cheaply than acyclovir with Curasore. The active ingredient is ether. And you don’t need a prescription, but since it contains ether, it is not on the drugstore shelf, but with the pharmacist. IMHO, Curasore is just as effective as acyclovir (Zovirax is the brand name). I’ve tried both. I have no financial interest in either.]]
Acyclovir and related antivirals are the only remedies that actually work to prevent and lessen herpes outbreaks. The other medicines mentioned here are home remedies and there are no scientific case/control studies to show that they are effective that I have seen. If you are recommending a remedy here, I would like to see your evidence/proof that it works better than placebo. Curasore sounds like it might provide symptomatic relief to some extent, but I don’t think it actually works as an anti-viral.
[[L-Lysine is your friend! So is Vitamin-B!]]
There is pretty good evidence that L-Lysine does NOT work against herpes. And what kind of Vitamin B are you talking about? There are a number of B vitamins. Some of them, such as Vitamin B 6 can be dangerous to take at higher doses.
[[Do these remedies work also for Herpes Zoster?]]
Acyclovir (aka Zovirax) and the related antivirals (famcyclovir, etc.) are used to prevent and lessen outbreaks of Zoster as shingles. Shingles are a re-emergence of the virus that causes chicken pox; Herpes Zoster. It also lives in your body forever once you acquire it. Most people don’t have further outbreaks, though.
[[I really don't know about herpes zoster, which is the chicken pox virus and later emerges as canker sores. However, these sores usually appear inside the mouth, not on the lips.]]
No. Zoster/shingles can appear all over the body. Often on the face, scalp and torso.
[[I know, Smeghead, that you can never get rid of the virsues once they’ve ensconsed in your body, but you can get rid of the active ones by zovirax, Curasore (ether), or hydrocortisone.]]
Hydrocortisone may lesson symptoms, like curasore apparently does. But it does not attack the virus like the anti-virals do.
[[Since I started taking extra C I’ve had many fewer outbreaks and those have been less severe.]]
There is no evidence that I have seen that Vitamin C is effective against herpes. In fact, people who take megadoses of Vitamin C often have cold sores related to ingesting so much acidity.
[[Purlip is a product I got for free on an offer via Medline.]]
Purlip is a zinc remedy. Zinc may help dry up the sores, but will not have any effect against the active virus.
If any of you have other herpes remedies to recommend, please do a web search or ask your doctor/pharmacist for scientific studies to provide evidence to us that they are effective. Please do not post “proof” from websites or other sources that also happen to sell the remedy. - Jill
[Edited by JillGat on 10-16-2001 at 07:59 PM]
You’re pretty good at taking words out of context, JillGat. You snipped off my full comments. I said that I don’t know if vitamin C is the cause as merely aging reduces the frequency. I said hydrocortisone does not kill the active viruses, but it’s an anti-inflammatory. Reducing the inflammation reduces the severity.
Curasore contains ether and ether, as alcohol, kills viruses. I know it works for me as well as acyclovir. That is just a testimonial, but it’s good enough for me. I really don’t care if any one else believes me. 
i have but how come some people dont have the virus? is it only infectious when you have active cold sores? i would have thought everyone kissing everyone else would spread it. is it passed on from mother to child?
I’m sorry I didn’t add your disclaimers and modifiers, Barbitu8. I didn’t mean to misquote you - only to respond in case others thought these were “cures.” I know you didn’t say they were.
[[i have but how come some people dont have the virus? is it only infectious when you have active cold sores? i would have thought everyone kissing everyone else would spread it. is it passed on from mother to child?]]
There are actually a number of people who are positive on blood tests for Herpes I and/or II and report never having had outbreaks. So not getting sores is not proof that one is not infected with the virus. I don’t think anyone knows why some healthy people have repeated outbreaks and others don’t. We do know that people with compromised immune systems suffer more numerous and severe outbreaks.
Herpes is most infectious when the source person has an active outbreak, but it can also be spread when the infected person is not symptomatic but is “shedding virus” which happens sometimes. The majority of adults test positive for at least oral herpes, and a large percentage of adults test positive for the genital strain.
Since cortisone reduces inflammation by reducing the vigor of the immune response I’d say you would NOT want to do this. It may make you feel better, but since your immune system isn’t functioning quite as well under it you may extend the outbreak and may be at slightly greater risk of secondary infection.
First of all, I did not recommend megadoses of anything. In fact, I put a bit in the very next sentence about getting your vitamins from your diet.
Vitamin C is necessary to the functioning of the immune system and also to wound healing, both needed for healing up from a herpes outbreak. Although there are people who, quite frankly, abuse vitamins there are others who are not getting adequate amounts even if not actively displaying signs of scurvy. Anyone who is not getting adequate (as opposed to megadose) amounts of vitamins is more likely to suffer any sort of illness and take longer to recover.
I take a 250mg vitamin C nearly every day (I forget sometimes). If I could find a smaller supplemental dose I would use it, because that’s 4 times what is required and I’m probably pissing away at least half of it as unneeded. Wasteful. But I have trouble finding a dose even that small.
Second, when I was having difficulties with cold sores and saw a dermatologist one of the first things he checked was my diet. He also asked about my water intake, as dry, dehydrated skin is also more likely to have problems of all sorts, including herpes outbreaks.
Granted this isn’t as sexy a solution as acyclovir and other drugs. However, the idea that maximizing the health of a person through adequate diet and fluids reduces the frequency and severity of many chronic health problems is hardly new or radical.
Yes, it works, it works, it works. I was plagued by them, and now I am not. When I get that nasty tingly, warm, itchy feeling on my lower lip, on the left side, I take Lysine, and it goes AWAY. Gone. Buh-bye. And my recurrence of flare-ups dropped dramatically after I started taking a multi-B tablet every night (B6, B12, etc. There are about 6 types in my Pro-Fit tabs, plus Vit. C).
Now, I was told by two people to start the Vit. B for the sores because it works for them. I was told by another friend about the Lysine because it works for her. So, you are correct, this is not a double-blind placebo study, but it works for me and my friends. All have said they got results, all are happy. I am advocating for everyone here to go out and spend the oh-so-great amount of money and energy that taking a few months of Vit. B and one Lysine cold-stick would cost- just in case it works as well for them as it does for me and my friends.
AS for some cites, I Googled these:
http://www.nutrimed.com/LLYSINE.HTM
http://www.smartbodyz.com/cold-sores-lysine-1.htm
http://tsangenterprise.com/news34.htm
http://www.natmedpro.com/nmp/Refs-Herpes.htm
http://www.herpes.com/Treatment.shtml
Most say that Lysine restricts Arginine growth, which is associated with Herpes growth. Vitamin B is thrown in there for healthy nerves (whatever that means) and as a supplement against stress (and stress is listed as a cause for flare-ups).
Where did you get your info that Lysine was bad for sores?
SO, yes YMMV. But, this is not a UL that I heard from someone and just passed it on. It works for a bunch of people I know, including myself.
-Tcat
I haven’t clicked on any of your links, Tomcat. They’re probably all anecdotal evidence. I heard about the lysine/arginine theory many years ago, but, I repeat, lysine didn’t work for me. Nuts contain a lot of arginine and they don’t cause me any cold sores.
How did I stumble on Curasore? I first read in a * Consumers Report * many years ago that ether kills the active viruses in herpes. Fine, I said to myself, now how do I apply ether to my lips? Then my dentist, noting my cold sores, advocated Curasore. He also mentioned acyclovir, which I was familiar with through literature alone (it is also used in HIV cases, or was at one time - they have more potent stuff now). He told me that he had tried both and Curasore works just as well and is much cheaper. Here in the States, topical acyclovir is an expensive salve.
So I went to the pharmacist and he said that his patrons told him Curasore is just as effective. My dentist gave me a prescription for acyclovir, so I told my pharmacist I will compare them. That time I used the acyclovir. The next time I used Curasore. I found no difference in efficacy: they both worked almost instantaneous, within a day. You may find it hard to believe, but by the next day all the sores were gone, with either one. Curasore was then cheap, a couple of bucks a tube, but kept with the pharmacist.
Coincidentally, I stopped at the Citadel’s PX to pick up some Skin-So-Soft (for the gnats, another topic of controversy but everyone here along the SC coast knows that it is very effective against gnats), when I noticed they have Curasore right on the shelf. Now, however, the price was $7.
Incidentally (I digress again), * Consumers Report * once ran an article on Skin-So-Soft and said studies showed it was ineffective against mosquitoes, flies, etc. However, they did not mention gnats, which is what is works against. I wrote them then that they did not test gnats. They replied that they would. They haven’t. That was about 10 years ago.
Skin-so-soft is the ONLY thing that works against gnats and biting flies! I worked in landscaping for two season’s and that was all we used when working the new soil and turf. I learned about it from oil-riggers in NW Colorado- big, tough, burly guys buying out girly moisterizers at the store…funny at the time.
BTW- A few of those links mention studies, and the natmedpro link is only references to studies done. So not only anecdotal.
But again, I should stress that of the two, vitamin B is the most important for me because it prevents them.
So how about we just take a bowl, throw everything mentioned into it, mix, repackage and sell?
cya-
-Tcat
Barbitua8 said
Perhaps this is part of the misunderstanding. Acyclovir is not useful topically. It needs to be ingested. The virus on the surface is not driving the bus.
Yes, but it’s not the bus driver that’s creating the discomfort. On the contrary, acyclovir can be used topically, as you would use Curasore. The active viruses generated by those in your ganglion are the ones creating havoc. Curasore kills the surface viruses. Acyclovir attacks them into a deeper layer of the body, but the effect is the same. How can it not be used topically when it is sold as a salve? and my dentist so prescribed? and my pharmacist gave it to me? Moreover, during an annual physical a few years ago, my doctor noted some unusual blood value (it may have been a white blood cell count, I don’t remember) and I told him I was using acyclovir. This was just after my dentist prescribed it and it was the only time I used it. My doctor said, “But you’re not taking it systemically, are you?” So, yes it can be used topically. (Incidentally - a word I’m fond of, incidentally - a repeat test showed a normal value, so inspite of the topical use I believe it affected the value).
I glanced at the natmedpro link and I was not impressed. For example, it took zinc two weeks to work. Without anything, my sores would go away in a few days. Curasore and acyclovir work in a day. The others noted better humoral response: vague, laboratory results and even if they correlate with symptoms, do not provide fast relief. And they were small studies, 24 and 36 women (no men).
As for Skin-So-Soft and flies, no it doesn’t work against flies. Only gnats. The fellow in charge of the local mosquite abatement district here told me once that it works against gnats because they are so small they cannot penetrate through the SSS. I really doubt that explanation, for if true why wouldn’t Vaseline [supra] tm [/supra] work, along with other emollients. SSS is not the only thing that’ll work, but the safest. You can immerse yourself with DEET products, too.
Re. these cites:
AS for some cites, I Googled these:
http://www.nutrimed.com/LLYSINE.HTM
http://www.smartbodyz.com/cold-sores-lysine-1.htm
http://tsangenterprise.com/news34.htm
http://www.natmedpro.com/nmp/Refs-Herpes.htm
http://www.herpes.com/Treatment.shtml
Do any of these sites NOT sell the products they recommend? I think it’s important to note that point. I am not opposed to people sharing anecdotes about what works for them, as long as they make it clear that that’s the basis of their recommendation. And ask your doctor/do your research. B6, for example, in megadoses can cause nerve damage. - Jill