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Dealing with Herpes?

Started by Andrew Hernandez · · 👁 10 views · 180 replies

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Participants Andrew HernandezRyan Sanchez55Jacob Wilson50Frank Lee6Casey Palmer5Eric Newman65Alexander Hill2Ethan Martinez11Karen White13electricdriver78Drew Young10briskeagle38silentowl43Hannah Davis18Aaron Thompson68Michael Jones23Kenneth Hernandez67Amy Fox97wiredranger4Kevin White5silvermason16ambermason16northernviper392Elizabeth Ruiz2 …
Lisa Sullivan Lisa Sullivan Newcomer
4 messages
joined Apr 2005
#81 ·
nostalgicar said:Does anyone actually have a cream that works to shut this thing down immediately? It’s already starting to peek out on my lip—seriously, please, pleeeease help me out here.

Why bother with some fancy cream? Honestly—just grab some baking soda, smear it on right at the start, and it’ll stop dead in its tracks. Trust me, I've been there. Tested and proven!
steelpanther9 steelpanther9 Member
13 messages
joined Mar 2010
#82 ·
I happened to stumble upon a suggestion here on the forum just the other day about using an ice cube instead of those little square patches.
And honestly, what are the odds? That very same afternoon, I felt one of those familiar, dreaded twinges signaling an outbreak was imminent. So, I grabbed some ice and held it there steadily until the cube had completely melted.
Since then... there hasn't been a single trace of herpes!
👍
silvermason16 silvermason16 Member
37 messages
joined Aug 2004
#83 ·
Besides the Virolex cream, there are also Virolex tablets—you take one
every 4 hours; they require a prescription.

I haven't tried baking soda; I have tried ice—that's what I
wrote about on the forum.

btw, I just got a breakout on my upper lip right now.🙂
Kenneth Price8 Kenneth Price8 Newcomer
6 messages
joined Jan 2005
#84 ·
silvermason16 said:Besides the Virolex ointment, there's also Virolex tablets... you take one every...
One pill every 4 hours... prescription only...

Just got out of a lecture... professor says skip the pills because they're apparently only for "complicated cases." Says Virolex ointment is our real savior... Claims Herpes Simplex type 1—you know, the lip kind—is just an aesthetic issue. Easy for her to say when it doesn't flare up every single month during her period...🙄
northernviper392 northernviper392 Member
13 messages
joined Jan 2005
#85 ·
I totally got played by this thing!
I could feel it coming on my lower lip, so I thought I’d be smart and get ahead of it. Well, less than twenty-four hours later, here it is—popping up right on my upper lip instead!!!!
I absolutely loathe it!
(It clearly decided to invite a whole crowd of friends over for a visit)
velvetwolf92 velvetwolf92 Member
42 messages
joined Apr 2007
#86 ·
I guess I was pretty much obsessed with it for a while, but I feel like I can finally catch my breath now. Since I was a little kid, I’ve been constantly dealing with it—not just on my lip, but all over my chin, inside my nose, even once in my ear... It’s honestly embarrassing and painful. I absolutely hate it. Thankfully, things are better lately. It still pops up every few months or so. I don't even try to stop it anymore, because it feels like there's just something inside me that needs to get out. If it doesn't happen this way, it'll find some other way. The most effective, though definitely the least aesthetic method, is using a Kalodont toothpaste. It dries it out really well, and since it stings a bit, it kind of kills that disgusting sensation you get when it's breaking through the skin.
By the way, it’s actually super useful (and totally natural) to apply tea tree or lavender essential oil right when you feel one starting to surface. It’ll still come out, but it stays much smaller and clears up way faster. Just make sure the oil is 100% pure. And yeah, it smells terrible. But it works.

Good luck

😁 velvetwolf92 😁
dustycanyon6 dustycanyon6 Active Member
82 messages
joined Dec 2005
#87 ·
Look, it’s true that herpes is caused by a virus, but that virus really only triggers those painful outbreaks when your immune system takes a hit... if you focus on boosting your immunity, you should see those flare-ups drop off significantly. Now, I'm sure you guys already know the drill for staying healthy: eating right, getting enough movement in, keeping up with decent hygiene, keeping stress levels down, and avoiding toxins (like those old amalgam fillings 😉) and so on...
Lisa Sullivan Lisa Sullivan Newcomer
4 messages
joined Apr 2005
#88 ·
dustycanyon6 said:It’s true that herpes is caused by a virus, but that virus only triggers those painful outbreaks when your immune system takes a hit—so if you beef up your immunity, you should see a massive drop in how often herpes shows up. Now, I assume you all know the drill on how to actually do that: eat right, stay active, keep things clean, manage your stress, and steer clear of toxins (like those old mercury/amalgam fillings 😉) and so on.

If you actually follow all that advice, you won't have any illnesses at all. It's your classic doctor response when they don't really have anything specific to say.
+ lose some weight, kick the cigarettes to the curb (if the patient smokes), and there you go. 😁
dustycanyon6 dustycanyon6 Active Member
82 messages
joined Dec 2005
#89 ·
Lisa Sullivan said:If you follow that advice, you won't have a single health issue. It’s just your typical doctor response when they don't actually know what else to say...
+ lose some weight, quit smoking (if the patient is a smoker), and there you go. 😁

I don't know what your experience with herpes has been like, but whenever it popped up for me, it was always because I was under massive stress or something similar. It never just happened out of nowhere... it always hit when my immune system was down for one reason or another. Now that I don't have those old amalgam fillings, it doesn't even show up when I'm stressed anymore. Occasionally I get a little tingle and I start worrying it's coming back, but then nothing happens...😉
Kevin White5 Kevin White5 Active Member
96 messages
joined Mar 2006
#90 ·
I merged these two identical threads together.
Rebecca Roberts2 Rebecca Roberts2 Member
28 messages
joined Jan 2008
#91 ·
I’ve been dealing with lip herpes for as long as I can remember, and for the last eight years, it’s also started popping up on my left eyelid 😠. When it first hit my eye, I used to apply Virolex ointment, but I noticed it just kept coming back every single month. Now, instead of using the ointment, I just take some B-Complex and let nature take its course; that way, it only flares up about once a year.
I take a pretty similar approach when it comes to the herpes on my lips 😉. As soon as I feel that initial tingling sensation, my first line of defense is simply to rub the area—kind of like how you might bite your lip—and then follow it up by taking a full box of B-Complex over the next few days. 😎
Elizabeth Ruiz2 Elizabeth Ruiz2 Member
31 messages
joined Dec 2003
#92 ·
When you have herpes on your lip, wash your hands immediately after applying ointment because it spreads so easily. My friend was messing around with her back a few days ago and now she’s got it there 😢 and one time it even spread near her eye
Hannah Davis18 Hannah Davis18 Active Member
170 messages
joined Sep 2008
#93 ·
Elizabeth Ruiz2 said:Look, if you get a herpes outbreak on your lip, wash your hands immediately after applying any ointment. Seriously, it spreads. I have this friend who was messing with her back a few days ago, and now she’s stuck dealing with it. 😢 And she had that same issue with her eye, too.

That stuff on your shoulders is most likely shingles. It probably has nothing to do with having herpes on your mouth.
Elizabeth Ruiz2 Elizabeth Ruiz2 Member
31 messages
joined Dec 2003
#94 ·
I don't know, she told the doctor you passed it on to her

is it possible to get that shingles on your lips too?
Hannah Davis18 Hannah Davis18 Active Member
170 messages
joined Sep 2008
#95 ·
Shingles shows up on the body and it stays on just one side. At least, that's how it was for me when the doctor explained it. It doesn't pop up on your face.
If it's on your face, that's Herpes Simplex. That stuff can spread to your eye, too. I was warned about that ages ago because it can get pretty nasty.
www.pfizer.com
silvermason16 silvermason16 Member
37 messages
joined Aug 2004
#96 ·
The herpes on my upper lip is still there; the scab just won't budge.

Woke up this morning with a flare-up right in the corner of my mouth.👎 😠 🙂
That makes three outbreaks in the last two months. 😲

I was definitely underdressed yesterday—just a skirt, a blouse 😵
and a decent jacket, but I was freezing all day. Between that and
getting home so late at 11:00 PM...
Maybe I caught a chill, because this little bastard popped up overnight.
I was asleep, so there was no chance to fight it off with Virolex.

My diet is pretty balanced—moderate amounts of fruit, veggies, meat, and carbs.

Picked up a 30-count pack of Supradyn today.

😕 😕 😕
Kyle Nelson2 Kyle Nelson2 Regular
475 messages
joined Jun 2008
#97 ·
I used to deal with Herpes pretty constantly—it was basically my shadow, always showing up and making its presence known to everyone... 🙂

I’ve gone through an entire collection of creams for this stuff, so here’s my take on what actually works:

- Acyclovir (Virolex, whatever, it's all the same). Yeah, it's okay at first, but honestly, it wasn't anything special to me.
- There’s this one cream, clear as water. It costs about $23 and you slather it on right when you feel an outbreak starting, hoping it'll just nip it in the bud... but the catch is, it usually just cuts it off for a few hours before it tries to pop back out again.
- Those interferon-based creams (around 70-$30)... they aren't the greatest, and looking at the list of possible side effects? Not exactly comforting. We're talking unknown illnesses, sudden fevers, and all that.

- Once the thing actually breaks out, I just use some cheap toothpaste like Colgate; it dries it out pretty fast.
- That "Nature's Gift" cream is alright, I guess, but the toothpaste actually works better.

But... look, in the last two years, I haven't had a single case of herpes (knock on wood). Honestly, I think it's because of eating right, hitting the gym, and hiking through the mountains. I'm taking B-Complex now, so maybe any kind of preventative measure would have helped.
Anthony Miller13 Anthony Miller13 Active Member
61 messages
joined Mar 2004
#98 ·
electricdriver78 said:Whether you're dealing with genital herpes or the kind that crops up around the lips or nose, it’s important to understand they are both triggered by the exact same culprit: the Herpes Simplex virus.

I suppose we should address the core question: is transmission actually possible here? Honestly, I’m not one to go running unnecessary experiments with my own health, so I’d prefer to avoid any guesswork.

All I know is that they’re both being treated with the exact same medication.

So, when we talk about Herpes Simplex, there’s often a bit of confusion regarding Type 1 and Type 2. To put it simply: yes, they are considered two distinct viruses, even though they belong to the same family. Think of it like two different models of a car from the same manufacturer. They might look similar and serve a similar purpose, but their mechanics and where you'll typically find them are different. Type 1 is generally associated with oral infections, while Type 2 is more commonly linked to genital infections. However, because of how people interact, those lines can blur quite easily. It’s less about them being completely unrelated entities and more about how they specifically target and manifest in the body. They are separate strains that behave in their own specific ways. 🙂
Anthony Miller13 Anthony Miller13 Active Member
61 messages
joined Mar 2004
#99 ·
So, I decided to type "herpes" into the search bar, scrolled through a few threads, and here’s the gist of what everyone has been saying so far:

Frank Lee6 said:
Typically, when you wake up to find a herpes outbreak, it’s usually because you’ve been fighting off a cold or dealing with chapped lips. There isn't much of a warning sign in those moments, but there is a way to be proactive. As a preventative measure, I always recommend applying some ChapStick—or even a bit of grape-flavored ointment—to your lips right before you head to bed.

The progression of a herpes outbreak typically follows a specific pattern: it starts with that familiar itching and tingling sensation, followed by redness around the lip area, the emergence of small blisters, and eventually the formation of a sore or scab. If you want to manage this effectively, timing is everything. You really need to step in at the first sign of discomfort. Acting before those blisters actually surface can drastically shorten the entire recovery period.
Using Virolex cream—which, I’ll admit, carries a bit of a premium price tag—is a worthwhile investment if you want to stay ahead of the curve. If you apply it early enough, it can actually prevent those blisters from forming in the first place. Even if you're a little late and a blister has already surfaced, the cream tends to clear it up within 24 to 48 hours, usually without leaving behind that typical, unsightly wound.


Just like him, he offers plenty of other recommendations as well.
- Virolex (Acyclovir) ointment While Krka is a major player in the industry, there are also Virolex tablets available that you can take to help prevent the onset of herpes. Additionally, regarding the Virolex cream, it’s been suggested—and I find this quite practical—that you should continue using it for a few days even after the herpes outbreak has visibly cleared up.
Moving forward, here is what I would suggest:
- Propolis drops have always occupied a curious space in the American wellness landscape. Much like how one might rely on a sturdy umbrella during a sudden downpour in Seattle, people often turn to propolis when they feel their body’s natural defenses are under siege. It isn't just a trend; it’s a bit of an old-school remedy that has maintained its footing despite the constant influx of high-tech pharmaceutical alternatives. When you look at the composition, it’s essentially a resinous substance collected by bees from various plant sources. In a sense, it acts as the hive's version of an immune system—a biological sealant that keeps out bacteria and fungi. For us, using it in drop form feels like applying a subtle, preventative layer of protection. It’s less about the aggressive intervention of a heavy-duty antibiotic and more about supporting the terrain of the body so that pathogens find it harder to take hold. I tend to view it through the lens of maintenance rather than emergency repair. If you think of your health as a well-kept house, propolis isn't the crew that comes in to rebuild the foundation after a flood; rather, it’s the sealant you apply to the window frames to prevent the drafts from getting in in the first place. It provides a gentle, systemic reinforcement. Of course, everyone’s constitution is different. What works as a reliable staple for one person might be unnecessary for another. However, if you are someone who prefers a more holistic approach to seasonal transitions, incorporating propolis drops can be a very sensible addition to your routine. It’s steady, predictable, and carries a certain quiet efficacy that many modern supplements lack. (Without alcohol) (Not as a preventative measure, but rather for when an outbreak has already flared up)
- I'm afraid I don't have enough context to provide a meaningful response to that specific term. If you're referring to a particular medication, a medical condition, or a topic discussed in a previous thread, please provide a bit more detail so I can offer a thoughtful perspective. Nature provides.
- Herplex Belupo
- Zovirax
- I haven't seen much discussion regarding HIMA PASTA lately, but if you're looking for insights, it’s worth considering how specific dietary or supplemental approaches impact overall wellness. Much like how one might adjust a complex engine to run more smoothly, fine-tuning what we consume can make a significant difference in how our bodies manage various stressors. If there are specific questions about its application or how it fits into a broader health regimen, feel free to share. Apparently, you can't find any Mundipharma products around here in the States.
- I’m sorry, but I don't have enough context to provide a meaningful response to that specific phrase. If you are referring to a particular topic, medical concern, or a previous discussion point, please provide more details so I can address it properly in my usual style.
- The concept of a "miracle potion" is a recurring theme in our discussions, often surfacing when someone is searching for immediate relief from persistent symptoms. In my experience, while the allure of a quick fix is incredibly strong—much like the promise of a single magic bullet in any complex problem—real wellness usually requires a more measured approach. We often see people chasing these elusive shortcuts, hoping for a singular solution to bypass the slower, more methodical process of management and care. It’s an understandable human impulse, but one that rarely aligns with the biological realities we face.
And one more thing:
- GROZDJANA MAST
- I'm afraid I don't quite follow—could you clarify what you mean by "KRISKA LIMUNA"? If you're referring to a specific product, a medical term, or perhaps a local expression, please let me know so I can provide a helpful and accurate response.
- Sliced garlic cloves.
- TOOTHPASTE It isn't exactly something I would go around recommending to everyone, but...
- Applying chamomile compresses, ice, or alcohol to the affected area...
Regarding the administration of this medication... B-Complex Vitamins

Luca said:
At the very first sign of symptoms—that unmistakable tingling or itching sensation—you really need to act fast. My advice is to immediately cool down the area where you feel the flare-up starting; using an ice cube is a simple, effective way to manage that initial irritation before a blister actually forms. Once that blister appears and eventually turns into a scab, the window for certain treatments starts to close. If you're going to use viral polymerase inhibitors like Virolex or Zovirax, they absolutely have to be applied aggressively and early on. They are most effective when used to get ahead of the virus. Once the blisters and scabs have already set in, those specific antivirals lose much of their utility. At that stage, it makes more sense to switch tactics and use something designed to dry out the affected tissue, such as a zinc-based ointment.


I was reading an article in a magazine recently that suggested outbreaks of herpes tend to occur more frequently during the summer months. Of course, it isn’t an absolute rule, but if we assume there is some truth to that observation, it makes you wonder about the underlying cause. Could the intense heat itself be a primary trigger? It seems plausible that the physiological stress from high temperatures might play a role in how the virus behaves.

If you have any other ideas or insights to share, please feel free to add them to the discussion. I’m always interested in hearing different perspectives.
Any insight regarding what actually works would be greatly appreciated. I find that collective experience often provides a much clearer picture than any single source, so please feel free to share your thoughts. 🙂

And just one question:
I honestly can't wrap my head around the logic behind applying ice versus alcohol to herpes. From what I gather, alcohol just ends up drying everything out, whereas ice actually seems to help. Does anyone have any insight on this?


To wrap things up:
Genital herpes is essentially a localized infection of the skin and mucous membranes caused by the Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) type II. It falls under the category of sexually transmitted infections, typically featuring an incubation period ranging from four to twenty-one days. Clinically, you’ll observe a red, inflamed area characterized by small, painful vesicles. When managing this, both partners should undergo treatment using antivirals, which can be administered via creams or oral tablets. It is important to clarify that transmission occurs exclusively through sexual contact; it is impossible to transmit herpes from the mouth to the genital area. Any HSV appearing elsewhere on the body—such as the skin, lips, or hands—is caused by type I. That version is spread through direct contact between mucous membranes or skin-to-skin contact. Various factors can trigger an outbreak of HSV on the body, including UV radiation exposure, menstruation, stress, and fluctuations in temperature like extreme heat or cold. Often, an outbreak also serves as a physical signal that the body is dealing with some form of acute inflammatory process.
Anthony Miller13 Anthony Miller13 Active Member
61 messages
joined Mar 2004
#100 ·
I don't know for sure...
There’s that eye cream—you know, the tiny little white tube with a yellowish-orange tint? Apparently, that helps too, though I can't recall the exact name of the cream off the top of my head.

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