Herpes is a viral infection caused by the Herpes Simplex Virus. There are two strains of this virus- HSV-1 and HSV-2 and they cause two variants of the disease, oral and genital herpes.
While there is no cure for herpes, the illness itself can be shortened by anti-viral drugs like acyclovir. The outbreak of this disease is marked by blisters that appear on the body or on and in the mouth in case of oral herpes, and genital areas in case of genital herpes. The blisters can be very painful and the constant itching can be prevented by these drugs.
Oral herpes is highly prevalent in small children. To help relieve the discomfort of cold sores, people should give their children cold liquids. Avoid juices with high acidic content such as orange juice or lemonade because the acidic content will cause a greater burning sensation rather than help to relieve irritability.
Also, when someone is in great pain from herpes, applying ice cubes on the sores can provide relief. It is difficult to stop children from rubbing or scratching the sores when they feel itchy. One way to prevent this is to keep them busy. This is possible by indulging them with games and puzzles to keep their hands and mind busy and so away from the sores.
There are two types of treatment available for genital herpes, episodic treatment and suppressive treatment. Episodic treatment is for the infected person to take when there is an outbreak of an episode of the disease. The episodic treatment consists of the use of anti-viral drugs such as FAMVIR to relieve the pain and discomfort.
The HSV-2 virus, after an attack, usually lies dormant in the nearby nerve cells for a certain period and then gets reactivated, after which another attack occurs. Suppressive therapy is a continuous daily therapy that an infected person undergoes to prevent further attacks of the disease. The suppressive treatment helps minimize the frequency and severity of the attack.
