Home Remedies and Prevention
Most herpes simplex infections that develop on the skin can be managed at home with over-the-counter painkillers and symptomatic relief.
Symptomatic Relief
Several simple steps can produce some relief:
- Hygiene is important. Avoid touching the sores. Wash hands frequently during the day. Fingernails should be scrubbed daily. Keep the body clean.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Blisters or sores should be kept clean and dry with cornstarch or similar product. (Women should not use talcum powder because it may increase their risk for ovarian cancer.)
- Some people report that drying the genital area with a blow dryer on the cool setting offers relief.
- Avoid tight-fitting clothing, which restricts air circulation and slows healing of the sores.
- Choose cotton underwear, rather than synthetic materials.
- Local application of ice packs may alleviate the pain and help reduce recurrences by suppressing the virus.
- Lukewarm baths may be helpful. (For people who have pain on urination, some experts recommend urinating in the bath water at the end of the bathing time. This dilutes the urine and prevents burning the sores. Urinating in a cool shower is also helpful and is less offensive to many people. )
- Wearing sun block helps prevent sun-triggered recurrence of HSV-1.
- Sex should be avoided both during the outbreaks and the prodromes (the early symptoms of herpes), which include tingling, itching, or tenderness in the infected areas.
- Over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Datril, Panadol, Tylenol), or ibuprofen (Advil, Medipren, Motrin, Nuprin), can be used to reduce fever and local tenderness. Children should take acetaminophen. Never give children aspirin.
Stress Management
In one study, stress management techniques developed using cognitive-behavioral methods not only were effective in reducing depression in those with HSV-2 but blood test results also revealed lower levels of HSV-2 antibodies, a possible sign of decreased viral activity. In any case, reducing stress using relaxation techniques does no harm.
Herbal and Other Alternative Remedies
Many herbal and dietary supplement products claim to help fight herpes infection by boosting the immune system. There has been little research on these products, and little evidence to show that they really work. Some are capsules taken by mouth. Others come in the form of ointment that is applied to the skin. Popular herbal and supplement remedies for herpes simplex include:
- Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea )
- Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus )
- Aloe (Aloe vera )
- Bee products that contain propolis, a tree resin collected by bees
- Lysine
- Zinc
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