Everybody is always on the lookout for ways of treating herpes. I recently purchased a book on A to Z of nutrients and came across a couple of things i've never heard of previously in regards to herpes.

The first is Peppermint/Mint, which it states as having antiviral properties: it's tannins have been found to suppress the activity of the flu virus and inhibit Herpes simplex.

It doesn't state what you should do with the peppermint, but i gather drinking peppermint tea must act as a viral inhibitor. Not sure how good peppermint tea bags are or whether making a tea out of the real thing is better.

The other thing i found which mentioned herpes in this book was: Red wine which is rich in "resveratrol". Among other things, researchers have recently found that resveratrol can also help to prevent herpes. The scientists found that dabbing the infectious sores with red wine can hamper their growth and can stop the sufferer from passing it on. Wines with higher concentrates of "resveratrol" are found in cooler and more humid climates eg: Burgundy, Bordeaux, Switzerland, Oregon, Canada. Wines from warmer and drier climates tend to have lower concentrations.

Guess there is only one way of finding out whether this is true and that is opening a nice bottle of red the next time you have an ob.

My recent ob was once again brought on by lack of sleep and some stress and anxiety i went through. I don't believe particular food types bring mine on.

If anybody has heard of any other claims, please feel free to add them here.

Wishing everybody a happy and herpes free Christmas and New Year. Thanks to everybody for sharing their experiences. It's helped me so much. I just had my herpes first anniversary at the end of november and in the year i've been visiting this site i have learnt so much, which books and doctors haven't been able to provide. Thank you so much :)

I agree, this site is helping me a great deal. I was diagnosed in the beginning of November and started my 2nd OB on sunday. I think I have some red wine downstairs! haha! :) I am not able to afford anitvirals right now, the first day i was a little miserable wondering what am I going to do when this OB sets in fully. Well, I have taken 3000mg of Lysine everyday, spray peroxide on the spot 3-4 times a day and use anit-bacterial wet wipes on the sore as well. To my surprise, I havent had any soreness or itching since. My first OB, it hurt to even rinse myself in the shower, it itched like crazy and was a bit painfull, this time I think I might have avoided all those symptoms by doing what I have been doing.

Just incase you were wondering where I got the high Lysine dose from, I came across a "natural healing" website by searching for lysine on yahoo. They wrote that during an OB take 3000-4000mg of Lysine a day, and then 500mg there after as a daily supplement. I'm pretty sure this is working for me. Which is refreshing. I never knew I had herpes, not sure where I got it but now all of the sudden I've had 2 OB's in a month's or so time. Im starting to think that boy in Iraq that I have been so worried about telling this too, actually did give this to me....

And ideas would be helpful. I've had H about a year and just tried an anti-viral med for the first time. I've only been on it 2 days and have already experience migrane headaches and sore muscles. I don't want to suffer like this every day for the rest of my life. It seems like everyones body is different but I'm think all natural is the best way to go for me.

Beth, someone on one of the other threads mentioned that the anit virals gave them very bad heachaches too.

Audrey, I noticed on another thread you mentioned about not wanting to take anti-viral meds on your 1st OB so that your body could build up antibodies to the virus. When I went in for my swab/culture test the 1st time, the doctor gave me both a prescription for Valtrax and for Zithromyacin. I only took the Zithromyacin, which is an antibiotic b/c I was hoping it wasn't herpes... anyway, it is HSV1. Do you think that in taking the antibiotic, it interferred with the antibodies building up a defense for future OBs? Antibiotics are not the same as anti-virals are they?

Antibiotics and Antirvirals are completely different. Antibiotics are used to treat bacteria and wont help a virus. Herpes is a virus. That is why antibiotics dont work on the flu virus...but they do work on chest infections etc. Confusing ...lol!

Also, I had no choice but to take the Valtrex after 6 months of chronic outbreaks and suffering. I tried all the natural remedies and nothing worked for me, I was ready to throw myself off a bridge and I know that sounds over-dramatic but I cant tell you how much pain I was in, how severe the outbreaks were. I could not walk, utinate...let alone wear pants! Finally, I went to my doctor and begged for surpessive Valtrex therapy and it was the best thing I did. I dont take the Valtrex everyday anymore, just when I feel a tingle or burn or when I start my period because my period is guaranteed to bring on an outbreak.

Red wine, chocolate and nuts are taboo for me! If I have any of the three it it a guaranteed outbreak. I think that this herpes thing is hit and miss and in time we get to know our own virus and what triggers it.

Peroxide has been my savior, it really decreases the amount of time of my ob's, I find if I see a tiny blister, I get the peroxide on it, and it is gone in 24 hours. Maybe I should drink a bottle of peroxide! Wink!

Anyway good luck with your research and keep us posted with your findings as I think it is great we can share what seems to help this virus with each other.

Jaylite,

Antibiotics are not the same as antivirals. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections, whereas antivirals are used to fight viral infections. I'm not sure why your doctor gave you the antibiotics, maybe to stop the inflammation? I have read that some of the antivirals used for treating herpes have been found it can reduce the amount and severity of recurrent outbreaks if used early on, like during the primary episode. Do some research and maybe you'll see something about it. I read it on one of the company sites.

Probably gave her the antibiotic because they weren't sure yet what she had and just in case it was just a bacterial infection they gave an antibiotic...that's my assumption.

Yes, my lymph node in my groin was swollen and it was right before Christmas weekend - it was a while before I got the culture result back so she gave me the antibiotic to take in the meantime till we got the results.

I've heard that it's better to hold off on taking the antivirals on your 1st OB though, b/c your body has a chance to build up new antibodies with which to fight the virus in future OBs.

I'm wondering if those antivirals they are giving patients as soon as they have the first signs of herpes is why some people are having one OB after another that just won't go away? I have never taken a scrip. for herpes, but first OB seemed like it would never go away(two months!) but I believe it may have been because I have never in my life had any herpes virus whatsoever! Then I got another OB shortly after the first one finally went away but it didn't last long and was very mild with only one sore in the genital area and one sore on my hip, dull headache and some mild discomfort in my legs and feet. Lasted a week and was gone! I don't want to tell people to go against what the doctor tells you but it makes sense that the antivirals could be doing more harm than good at the first signs of herpes because you body needs to build up antibodies so it can fight it off naturally.

Keepsgoing...was your primary outbreak severe? Mine was so severe that I had to go to the hospital and get put on a cathertar because I could not urinate. I had a fever, stomach pains, swollen lymph nodes could and to top it off I was covered in blisters all over my vagina. ( yes those ugly ones you see on some websites under pictures of herpes). I had no choice but to go on antivirals and I would have drank gasoline if I thought it would put me out the the misery that I was in. I stopped the antivirals after my initial, but my initial lasted about 6 months with one o/b after another. Who knows I think it depends on the person and the severity of the o/b. But who knows

I would consider my first OB to be severe but not as bad as yours was...thank goodness!!!! It started off with a dull headache for several days and I thought...jeez, did I eat too much sugar or was is sinus? But then I started to have some pain in my genital area and started with the painful urination so I think...OK, I'm getting a bladder infection so I go get some cranberry juice(don't I wish!) The urinating was so painful that I was moaning when I'd have to go but I was always able to urinate...thank goodness again! That lasted for several days and then the sores broke out and that's when I knew it was something besides bladder! I had about half dozen sores around my pubic area...none on the genital itself! About that time by feet would have sharp pains and then they started aching and tingling as well as my legs too. As soon as the sores popped up, I just realized that I had herpes because when my BF and I first were together, he had a sore on his penis and it made me uneasy but he said it was just from masturbation and nothing more. And in a way he was right because I've since learned that friction of sex can make the sores come up. But that sore came racing back to my memory when I got these sores! They were like knots under the skin and so very sore like someone had kicked me in the crotch. I suffered with these symptoms for a few weeks, the headache went away after about the first week though. Then I noticed a rash between my fingers and about that time as I thought the sores were going away...oh no no...they turn into a cluster of blisters that itched like poison ivy and looked like poison ivy too. At that same time, my right hip began to itch and then got a cluster of blisters after I scratched really hard. The itching was so severe, I thought I was going to go out of my mind. I would get in the shower and run water as hot as I could stand it to make the itch go away and believe it or not, it did help make the itch less horrible! Through the whole time, my feet and legs ached and then gradually the itch started to go away and the sores cleared up. OH yeah, I also had swollen glands. I think the worse part was the itching...when I say it was horrible, that's an understatement! This OB lasted about 2 months altogether. I was what I'd consider cleared up for almost a week when the headache started back and I thought...that's just great and then sure enough I woke up a few days later feeling feverish(OH yeah I felt feverish in the first OB too at first) and then felt one sore on my genital, a couple days later my hip started itching again with a new spot on it and I had the tingling in my legs and feet. The OB only lasted a week and was gone. I finally feel good again but I still have a little bit of weird feeling in my feet.

Thanks everybody for clearing up the antibiotics v's antivirals for jaylite.

Hi jaylite, sorry i wasn't on here to answer any questions. It's still a mystery why some get such severe ob's in the early stages. I don't know if it's true, but the doctor at my sexual health clinic says that most patients she see's have much worse ob's for genital type 1, but later get ob's far and few between. Those with type 2 get a lesser ob than type 2, but would get more ob's in a lifetime than type 1 people. I don't know if this is the case. Those medical people at times really seem out of touch!!

My first ob last roughly between 2 and 3 weeks, but it was a mild case, yet still uncomfortable as well as dealing with the "OMG, i'm a genital hepres statistic now". I then got another mild case about a week or so after the first lot cleared up. My only saviour is that mine are on the edge of my anal spot and not vaginal. A total blessing i believe!! Anyway, the longer i had it, the less ob's i got. At first it did appear as though my ob's would happen once my period was over, but then then no ob's for a few months. Then i surprisingly got a bad case vaginally and then i finally knew what others went through when they felt pain and mysery. I've only had it vaginally 2 times.

The reason i refused the prescription meds was due to my ob's being considered mild, i could tolerate the discomfort, i hate giving money to pharmaceutical companies who are only interested in selling drugs rather than finding a cure for a such a simple thing and i was more scared of possible side effects than of the herpes itself.

It all boils down to it being a personal choice. You do what you feel is right for you and the frequency and types of ob's you get. In time things do settle and you do learn what sets off the ob's and what eases the discomfort.

Thanks everyone. I totally agree with you, AudreyB, I know I will not take any prescription meds for this - I really want my body to be able to fight it itself. It seems that I have been pretty lucky so far, but I hope I don't jinx myself by saying that! My first OB wasn't really so bad - I was just more scared about what it was - there were only 2 sores and they hurt for like 3 days. The lymph nodes were swollen, but everything settled down after 10 days or so. Now it's just under a month and I have a slightly swollen lymph node but no sores yet - I feel like my immune system is fighting this - I really hope so. Thanks again!

i also have type1 but not on my mouth. at first it was horrible, i just wanted to die, but i followed all my dr's advice and immediately sought professional care on first ob. i did'nt wait or try to self medicate as that can be dangerous. i listened to the professional and had 7 ob the first year and 2 the next year. since then i have been ob free for 3 years now. The first 2 years i took 2, acyclovir 400 mg tabs a day. i now take acyclovir 400mg (generic, much cheaper than valtrex)once a day. the first year is the hardest both mentally and physically but after that it really does get alot easier. i have my dr call in 6 months meds at a time so i don't have to be humiliated by walking into pharmacy every month. but he still writes the prescrip. for 2 a day. so really i get 365 pills and only go once a year which makes it alot easier. the cost is about 300 something as it changes slightly every year but never above 400. paying that does suck but to those who know what an ob feels like both mentally and physically, i'd pay triple that if i had to. hang in there and take the real meds and you'll be fine. hope this helps

I have read that some of the antivirals used for treating herpes have been found it can reduce the amount and severity of recurrent outbreaks if used early on, like during the primary episode. Do some research and maybe you'll see something about it. I read it on one of the company sites.

Yeah, I've read this as well. I can't remember exactly where, but it was a research study somewhere that showed if you take anitvirals within the first 72 hours, you will have less severe and less frequent outbreaks. Too late for me, but when I eventually deal with the biggest worry in my life at the moment -- eventually dating and having to have "the talk" it will be good to know if this is true in the event of the worst-case scenario and she picks up my gift-that-keeps-on-giving.

"the gift that keeps on giving"...that's a new one! Ha!

The odds of someone getting to take those antivirals without 72 hours(assuming you mean the first 72 hours of the very first OB?) is pretty much 1,000,000,000 to 1. People aren't going to realize what's happening to them that soon...I believe I had this in my system for several months before I had an OB that was noticable.

The odds of someone getting to take those antivirals without 72 hours(assuming you mean the first 72 hours of the very first OB?) is pretty much 1,000,000,000 to 1.

Yeah, I tend to agree, it seems pretty unlikely. I think it was from the first signs of OB. I'll try and hunt down the reference.

Actually, I had the same kind of feverish symptoms that you described in an earlier post, but I never would have guessed it was Herpes. Actually, my first thought was HIV, even though I never have unprotected sex. Little did I know then that HSV2 laughs in the face of condoms and has little trouble getting in through micro-cuts in the skin.

Anyway, at least now, I'd be constantly aware of things like hot/cold fevers, unusual headachs or other symptoms. I'm based in Asia and you can get Valtrex here as easily as asprin, and since it has no systemic effect on somebody with no virus present, if it turns out that early treatment is best, I'd probably suggest my partner takes a dose, just to be sure (I'd already be on suppressive -- have tried it before, sans partner, and I had no ill effects, and no breakouts).