Treating Genital Herpes With Intravenous (iv) Acyclovir Treatment

In their lifetimes, most human beings will be exposed to a herpes virus. This family of viruses (Herpesviridae) has been implicated in a wide range of diseases and conditions, including chickenpox, oral or facial herpes, genital herpes, mononucleosis, and corneal blindness. Consultation with a physician or other healthcare provider is an important step in getting treatment for herpes. To manage herpes, physicians try to reduce the number and severity of outbreaks.

Intravenous (IV) Acyclovir Treatment is given for severe cases of genital herpes when patients need to be hospitalized.

Genital herpes, which may be the most highly publicized form of the disease, is a widely misunderstood condition. At least 50 million Americans have genital HSV infection. This recurrent, incurable disease remains undiagnosed in most infected persons; they often have mild or asymptomatic infections and shed virus intermittently in the genital tract.

Many people believe that genital herpes is only transmissible during active outbreaks of herpes (when herpes lesions are visible). They may also believe that herpes is relatively rare. In fact, herpes is much more common than many assume. Many people who have antibodies to herpes (they have been exposed to the virus) are not aware they have the disease.

Conventional treatment of herpes relies on antiviral drugs that have been shown to reduce the severity of outbreaks and, in some cases, reduce the likelihood of transmission.

One of the treatments for genital herpes is Acyclovir. Acyclovir interferes with the virus’ ability to replicate. Acyclovir can be given orally or in patients with severe infection it can be administered by intravenous therapy.

Common side effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, anorexia, edema, and sore throat. These antiviral drugs may be given intravenously or orally, depending on the severity of the outbreak and the location.

Intravenous antiviral therapy is required for patients who have severe HSV infection or complications that mandate hospitalization, such as disseminated infection, pneumonitis, hepatitis, or CNS complications such as meningitis or encephalitis). The recommended regimen is IV acyclovir, 5 to 10 mg/kg q8h for 2 to 7 days or until symptoms are resolved. This is followed by oral antiviral therapy to complete a total of 10 days of treatment.

The first clinical episode of genital herpes during pregnancy may be treated with oral acyclovir. In the presence of life-threatening maternal HSV infection (e.g., disseminated infection, encephalitis, pneumonitis, or hepatitis), acyclovir-administered IV is indicated.

Investigations of acyclovir use among pregnant women suggest that acyclovir treatment near term might reduce the rate of abdominal deliveries among women who have frequently recurring or newly acquired genital herpes by decreasing the incidence of active lesions. However, routine administration of acyclovir to pregnant women who have a history of recurrent genital herpes is not recommended at this time.

Acyclovir has been administered orally and intravenously during all stages of pregnancy. Pregnant women will need to be closely monitored during pregnancy and extreme care given to treatment with the health of the baby uppermost in consideration along with the health and well being of the mother. Favorable maternal and fetal outcomes were observed.

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Treating Genital Herpes With Intravenous (iv) Acyclovir Treatment

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