About Acyclovir

If you’ve used Acyclovir, please help others by adding your feedback. What would you tell your best friend about this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history.

Subj: I think 5 days is enough
Date: 11/24/2010
My daughter(16yrs) has chicken pox from Saturday & started taking Acyclovir 800mg 5 pills a day. Docter has prescribed the medicine for 7days. I found the medicine is very effective but I think 5 days is enough. Please guide me. If I stop the medicine after 5 days, is there any side effect. Thanks.

Mamta

AskDocWeb: We are wondering, what makes you think 5 days is enough? Your doctor, who has studied medicine for years, thinks that your daughter would benefit from taking Acyclovir for 7 days. By stopping the medication at 5 days you are disregarding the professional medical advice of your doctor.

Subj: Lenkoplakia
Date: 11/26/2010
Hi, I came down with lenkoplakia on the side of my tongue and my Dr. prescribed 400 mg, twice a day. I have been taking them for 6 days now and my tongue is still in pain from this lenkoplakia. Is it normal to take a long time before it gets better? How much time should it take before it starts getting better? It was a severe place on my tongue before I received the medication so I’m thinking that may be the cause for the delay in healing. ?? If it doesn’t get better… how many days should I wait before I contact my physician? Thank you.

Reed

AskDocWeb: Lenkoplakia is a precancerous sore or lesion that develops on the tongue or inside of the cheek in response to chronic irritation. Precancerous means that it may become cancerous. The good news is that removing the source of the irritation may cause the lesion to disappear. Questions about your specific treatment should be addressed to your doctor.

Subj: Dosage time
Date: 11/26/2010
Can Acyclovir dosage time be terminated early? I know that antibiotics should be taken until they are depleted but does this apply with Acyclovir?

George

AskDocWeb: Yes, it is important to complete the full course of treatment. Stopping early allows the virus a better chance to multiply.

Subj: Signs of hypertension
Date: 11/27/2010
I have been taking a high dose of Acyclovir for 2 1/2 days (800 mg every 4 to five hours for shingles) and my blood pressure has spiked. I have been having some signs of hypertension over the past few months, but it reached an excessive high last night (204/118 and 188/121). I told my Doctor I was on Acyclovir but he said nothing about this extreme increase possibly being from the medication. After doing some research myself, there are a number of comments where people on this medication developed hypertension. Have any others reported extreme spikes and is there an alternative medication with a different structure? I am afraid to go off my trearment for shingles as this is my first time having it, but concerned!

RH

AskDocWeb: Acyclovir is not known to cause hypertension but there is a possibility of developing an unrelated condition while taking this drug.

Subj: Suggestion?
Date: 11/29/2010
pl.give me suggetion

Aijaz

AskDocWeb: We suggest you talk to your doctor.

Subj: False positive
Date: 11/30/2010
Will Acyclovir cause a false positive on a drug screen for benzodiazapines?

Renee

AskDocWeb: No, we have listed all the substances that are known to cause a false positive here.

Subj: Completely healed from herpes virus?
Date: 12/6/2010
I had a small itching in my back, right down my neck an now i’m taking cyclovex containing acyclovir(3 times per day), I just wanted to know if someone can be completely healed from that herpes virus and preventing it from coming back? Thank you!

Loulz

AskDocWeb: Sorry Loulz, as yet there is no cure for the herpes virus, only treatments to help manage the outbreaks.

Subj: Chances of cervical cancer?
Date: 12/10/2010
My wife has recurring outbreaks of herpes. Her turnaround time is greatly reduced if she takes acyclovir. We have been told that taking even a reduced dosage of 200-400 mg daily can help reduce the onset of the breakouts with little side affects. Or doctor had little knowledge of this so I was wanting to see if there is any data on this. Also my wife believes herpes outbreaks increases the chances of cervical cancer. Any info here would be helpful and whether a daily dose would help curb outbreaks? Thank you,

Mike

AskDocWeb: Herpes itself does not cause cervical cancer. The connection has to do with the behavior that led to contracting herpes in the first place. That same behavior increases the chances of contracting HPV – the human papillomavirus. Fortunately we now have the HPV vaccine called Gardasil which protects against 4 strains of HPV that cause cervical cancer.

Subj: Acyclovir side effects
Date: 12/13/2010
I have a headache, fog, drowsiness and the runs as side effects. What the heck? I’m took at the first outward sign of a cold sore. I’ve had three pussers come up each day. on day four. This stuff may not work for everyone. Best I can tell.

HatingIt

Subj: Vitamins or minerals?
Date: 12/14/2010
I have lymphoma for which I was given a stem cell transplant. The biopsy showed that the EBVirus was active inside the cancerous lymph node…Although not conclusive, it is thought that the EB virus drives the cancer…hence I have been on Acyclovir for 2 years (400mg, 2x day) to prevent recurrence of the cancer. I want to know if there are any vitamins or minerals that can shore up the body against long term effects of Acyclovir. Thanks,

Janice

AskDocWeb: No vitamins or minerals have shown any affect on the side effects of Acyclovir. However, several nutritional supplements have demonstrated activity against lymphoma cells including vitamins A, C, D, and E, curcumin, genistein from soy extract, fish oil, green tea, resveratrol, ginger, and garlic.

Note that the November American Heart Association meeting announced that Vitamins C and E increased the risk of stroke. The January edition of the American Medical Association reported that Vitamin E increased the risk of prostate cancer.

Subj: Acyclovir pills or Zovirax ointment
Date: 12/16/2010
What’s better take Acyclovir pills or do the zovarax ointment?

Anna

AskDocWeb: Both help but most authorities agree that the cream doesn’t seem to be as effective if used alone.

Subj: Long-term use of Acyclovir?
Date: 12/20/2010
I have been taking acyclovir as a suppression drug for about a year and it has worked brilliantly. Previously I was getting outbreaks about once every 2 months and sometimes more often. As a result I was getting more stressed and depressed which in turn made the condition worse. In any case the medication has been great. My doctor has said I should only be on it for a year at most, I notice some of your feedback has been made by people on it for 2 or more years. Is there a reason that my doctor is finishing it after a year?

Lee

AskDocWeb: Of course there are multiple possibilities but some people just respond better than others and require less treatment.

Subj: Before trying to get pregnant
Date: 12/20/2010
I have been taking acyclovir for about a year and found it really good. Myself and my husband are thinking of having kids soon, I spoke to my doctor and she advised that ideally I should wait 3 months until after I’m finished taking the drug before trying to get pregnant, do you know why she would have recommended this? Thanks,

Lea

AskDocWeb: One possibility has more to do with the improvement in your condition than any affect the drug might have on a baby. If you wait until you have finished treatment then it is possible that you are no longer having outbreaks, which means that there is less chance of passing on the infection while giving birth.

Subj: Memory problems and head ache
Date: 12/22/2010
I do feel that Acyclovir 400 mg is giving me memory problems and head ache..I have had a TIA in the past but I recuperated fully of my previous symptoms. As soon as I began using this medicine due to Epstein Barr and shingles virus, I got memory problems really bad, I am losing balance and getting head aches. Could this medication be giving me these symptoms? Or it is the virus that is giving me the symptoms…??? Can you please send me a response on these possible symptoms?

Luz

AskDocWeb: The symptoms of Epstein Barr include memory loss and headaches as well as recurrent upper-respiratory tract infections, exhaustion, extreme fatigue, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, achy joints and muscles, low-grade fevers, poor concentration, night sweats, irritability, and deep depression. Because the symptoms resemble flu and other viral symptoms, it is frequently misdiagnosed as hypochondria, depression, or psychosomatic illness.

Subj: Can’t pull down to 118
Date: 12/25/2010
My doctor said I am having chicken pox and he prescribed me a 800MG Acyclovir. He knows I am taking medication for Diabetes (Glipizide 5MG). I am wondering why I can’t pull down to 118 that I used to. Please advise. Thank You

JOE

AskDocWeb: Please be a little more specific and explain what you mean by “pull down to 118.”

Subj: Tablet and ointment at a time?
Date: 12/28/2010
Re: Acyclovir… I was prescribed this medication in both tablet form (400mg 3/daily for 10 days) & ointment form (5%) for treatment of cold sores. Can both tablets & ointment be used at the same time or should I use only one treatment method at a time?

T.

AskDocWeb: That is something you need to discuss with your doctor. Be sure to make a distinction between the cream and the ointment. Acyclovir topical cream is used to treat cold sores in adults and adolescents above age 12. The Acyclovir topical ointment is used to treat genital herpes lesions.

Read more feedback about Acyclovir.

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