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Suggest Treatment For HSV-1 Infection

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Posted on Wed, 28 Oct 2015
Question: I have tested positive for HSV 1 IgG, a 7.81. My questions are:
1. Is there a cure or a drug that can reduce the chance of transmitting it?
2. I don't know how long I may have had it, but I don't recall a single cold sore during my adult life. Is this common, and does it make a difference with transmitting it?
3. I have suffered from rhino sinusitis for the past 20 years. I have been taking amoxicillan as wella s an anti-fungal for the past several weeks, and for full disclosure, I take Singular daily, and I also had finished a 10-day, 40 mg. round of prednisone approximately one week before the test . Do these drugs affect the results?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sassen S Kwasa (21 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Antivirals like Valtrex do help to keep the viral load low.

Detailed Answer:
Welcome to healthcare magic.com. XXXX XXXXXXX questions as they have been placed. With the first one;
1. There is no cure for most viruses including herpes simplex. The unfortunate thing is this virus can be transmitted even when you don't have a cold sore and even when you're on medications. The antivirals like Valtrex do help to keep symptoms or outbreaks at bay.

2. Fortunately many people may not have symptoms or may have symptoms spread as long as 1 to 2 years apart. It is very hard to say. The symptoms may be very mild are not noticeable at all. Some people will get an outbreak and actually have to go to the doctor because of increased pain and suffering.

3. I don't believe that this test is affected by the drugs you've mentioned. However, what I can say is, if you are sick then the virus obviously will replicate more and it'll be more prone to be detected. Our natural immunity works at suppressing this virus. So if anything, this was a positive result while you're receiving treatment from illness, so I would say this is a true positive result.

I hope this helps and good luck.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sassen S Kwasa (24 minutes later)
Is my number, 7.81, considered high, average, or what?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sassen S Kwasa (15 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Yes this value is considered considered very high.

Detailed Answer:
For negative result to be read as negative you would need to have a value <0.9.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sassen S Kwasa (1 hour later)
Does this number remain the same or will it very depending on certain factors and what would those factors be?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sassen S Kwasa (8 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
This number will fluctuate and it depends on a person's immune status.

Detailed Answer:
factors affecting this number are for example if you are sick, your immunity is compromised and therefore your ability to suppress the virus will go down. This in fact will cause the virus to replicate more and therefore they'll bee more DNA viruses of this herpes in your system. So I would wager that, after your sick event if you went and had this retested, it would still be above the normal of 0.9, however it would be less than the 7.8 that you were diagnosed with. So for herpes the number does not really matter, it just matters if it is a positive or negative, and of course outbreaks will occur if you have more viral replication occurring in your body.

The viral values for herpes should not have a direct comparison with other viral conditions like HIV, where viral load is taken into account for treatment and severity of disease. Another example is when somebody has a common cold or the flu, they do have the virus in them and it does not matter what the viral level is. They are treated symptomatically until they feel better. Some of those tests are design just to see whether you have a positive influenza/viral test or not.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar
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Answered by
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Dr. Sassen S Kwasa

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :2012

Answered : 502 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For HSV-1 Infection

Brief Answer: Antivirals like Valtrex do help to keep the viral load low. Detailed Answer: Welcome to healthcare magic.com. XXXX XXXXXXX questions as they have been placed. With the first one; 1. There is no cure for most viruses including herpes simplex. The unfortunate thing is this virus can be transmitted even when you don't have a cold sore and even when you're on medications. The antivirals like Valtrex do help to keep symptoms or outbreaks at bay. 2. Fortunately many people may not have symptoms or may have symptoms spread as long as 1 to 2 years apart. It is very hard to say. The symptoms may be very mild are not noticeable at all. Some people will get an outbreak and actually have to go to the doctor because of increased pain and suffering. 3. I don't believe that this test is affected by the drugs you've mentioned. However, what I can say is, if you are sick then the virus obviously will replicate more and it'll be more prone to be detected. Our natural immunity works at suppressing this virus. So if anything, this was a positive result while you're receiving treatment from illness, so I would say this is a true positive result. I hope this helps and good luck.