08.08.07
Herpes Simplex Treatment
The ulcers as a rule heal without scarring, although the ulcerations in the cornea can lead to opacity and blindness. In patients with low immunity, the eruption can be more severe and there is a risk of its spread to the brain.
The virus is susceptible to the anti-viral drug Acyclovir but this drug is unable to prevent the recurrences unless taken continuously. However, whenever the drug is stopped, the recurrencesare likely to restart all over again. It is therefore, obviously impracticable to continue the treatment with Acyclovir for the rest of the life of the patient. The other alternative is to identify methods to destroy permanently the virus for which so far there is no indisputable approach.
Persistence of the virus in the body has been considered responsible for many other immunological disorders in human beings.
A patient having active herpes simplex should avoid close contact with other individuals to prevent transmission of the infection. The area should also be cleaned properly with soap and water to ward off super-added infection and to promote a quicker healing of the lesions.
Herpes simplex in the genital tract (private parts) of the female can also be transmitted to the baby during delivery and herpes simplex in the newborn is definitely more serious than that in adults. Several centres therefore, prefer to deliver the baby through a caesarian section rather than the normal vaginal route in case the pregnant patient has active virus in the vagina.
One of the common mistakes cormflitted by patients who develop the herpes simplex infection but fail to recognise the disease is that they apply a orticosteroid ointment on the lesions. This promotes spread of the infection with more serious consequences.