What You Need to Know About Natural Genital Herpes Relief
Many people who have herpes mistakenly believe that the itch, fever, and blisters that can occur again and again are caused by the herpesvirus. Actually, that isn't true. All of the symptoms of genital herpes are caused by the immune system itself.
And a peculiarity of the way the human body responds to this virus is that the weaker the immune system, the stronger the response. Some white blood cells, like CD4+ cells, fight infection. Some white blood cells, like CD8+ cells, regulate the CD4+ cells.
When the immune system is weak, the infection-fighting cells still destroy every safe harbor for the virus they can. They cause inflammation, fever, and blistering to deprive the virus of a home. But the regulatory cells are even weaker than the infection-fighting inflammatory cells, so a weak immune system results in even worse pain and irritation than a healthy immune system.
Drugs like Valtrex (valacyclovir) and other drugs in its class work by keeping the herpesvirus from multiplying. As long as the number of viruses is low, it stays "off the radar" of the immune system and there are no blisters or other symptoms. If the virus mutates so it is not stopped by the medication, however, inflammation is inevitable. And if you have a weakened immune system, your symptoms will be even worse.
Herbal medicine offers an entirely different way of dealing with constant herpes outbreaks. Of all the natural cures for genital herpes, lemon balm (also known as Melissa officinalis) is the only one to offer as much or greater protection from blisters after the initial herpes outbreak as standard medications.
Lemon balm doesn't kill the herpes virus. The cinnamic and rosmarinic acids in this herb, however, can stop the virus from multiplying, keeping it from being detected by the immune system.
Lemon balm is also anti-inflammatory. Unlike standard medications, which exert their effects on the first day of symptoms (as soon as there is tingling or burning sensation, before there are any blisters), lemon balm soothes inflammation after blisters erupt. The greatest effect of lemon balm occurs after the second day it is used. Lemon balm will help if it is started within 72 hours of the first appearance of blisters.
More on Genital Herpes Relief
There are also other natural products that can help relieve symptoms. Taking a combination of at least 23 mg of zinc with no more than 250 mg of vitamin C twice a day can help reduce genital herpes outbreak duration after nude sunbathing. Zinc oxide creams (such as the white creams used for sunblock) can be applied directly to blisters to help them heal more quickly. In one study, taking 200 mg of vitamin C with 200 mg of citrus bioflavonoids shortened genital herpes outbreak duration from an average of 9 days to an average of 4.
The thing to remember about applying any kind of ointment or lotion to blisters caused by genital herpes is that you don't want to reinfect yourself or infect others. Don't rub fingers over blisters and then dip them back into a jar of cream. Don't wipe yourself with wash cloths and towels that then might be picked up by others.
Lemon balm, zinc, and vitamin C won't get rid of your herpes infection for good. But they are inexpensive and effective tools for treating genital herpes outbreaks when medical methods don't work.
Selected Sources:
Lopez BS, Yamamoto M, Utsumi K, Aratsu C, Sakagami H. A clinical pilot study of lignin-ascorbic acid combination treatment of herpes simplex virus. In Vivo. 2009 Nov-Dec;23(6):1011-6.
Mazzanti G, Battinelli L, Pompeo C, Serrilli AM, Rossi R, Sauzullo I, Mengoni F, Vullo V. Inhibitory activity of Melissa officinalis L. extract on Herpes simplex virus type 2 replication. Nat Prod Res. 2008;22(16):1433-40.