Genital herpes is a disease provoked by herpes virus, a virus family having 5 different strains affecting people with a number of diseases, including shingles, chicken pox as well as mononucleosis. Herpes simplex is the most common strain and it has two forms: type 1 that is usually attributed to fever blisters occurring around the mouth; and type 2 that infects the genitalia, thighs, buttocks with very painful blisters.
These two forms are not confined to the mentioned areas. According to studies results type 1 herpes virus was found in genital sores and type 2 virus was found in throat and mouth infections. Some other body parts might be affected as well. These are eyes, hands, spinal cord and brain.
Genital herpes symptoms in women are quite similar to the male ones. The symptoms in early stages of the diseases are similar to the flu and include fatigue, body aches, muscle pain, burning and itching on the skin where an outbreak is expected. This time is absolutely the best (if not speaking about prevention) to cure the upcoming outbreak of herpes. The measures taken in the initial symptom period of time can fully abort the outbreak and lower its duration and seriousness.
A number of various treatments of herpes is available. First of all it is zovirax, valtrex, famvir (as well as the generic brands of these drugs). The antiviral drugs mentioned above are the only treatments to be approved by the FDA for curing female genital herpes. Medical researches have proven that they really work. The drugs are expensive and cause some side effects, that’s why a lot of women take the antivirals only as an episode suppression. Rather than use an antiviral every day in order to keep the virus inactive, they take an increased dose in case of an upcoming outbreak. This very method may be cost effective.
For women suffering from genital herpes and for those who do not feel comfortable with a pharmaceutical or have no access to them, there are some inexpensive options. High doses of zinc and vitamin C help prevent the virus as well as block the outbreak. Try 60mg (zinc) and 4000mg (vitamin C) during the day for three/ four days straight away after noticing the first signs. 10mg of zinc and 1000mg of vitamin C as a daily dose may be effective in improving the immunity and in such a way it does not let the virus to become active.