What is the treatment for genital herpes?
There is no treatment that can cure genital herpes; the virus will always be in your body. Certain drugs such as acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir can shorten outbreaks and make them less severe, or stop them from happening. Depending on your needs, your doctor can give you drugs to take right after getting outbreak symptoms or drugs that you can take on a regular basis to try to stop outbreaks from happening. When used along with safe sex practices, Valacyclovir (brand name Valtrex ®) can also help prevent you from passing the infection to someone else. Talk to your doctor about which treatment plan is best for you. During outbreaks, these steps can speed healing and prevent spreading of the infection to other sites of the body or to other people. • Keep the infected area clean and dry. • Try not to touch the sores. • Wash hands after contact. • Avoid sexual contact from the time the symptoms are first noticed until the sores have healed.
