Genital Herpes Remedies and Home Treatments
What can I do about it?
The first and most important step is finding the right treatment. Without treatment you will experience more frequent and long lasting outbreaks. See the product review page for more information on treatments available to treat genital herpes. Once you have a consistent and effective treatment regime in place, some simple changes to diet and lifestyle will go a long way to helping you say goodbye to outbreaks, and helping reduce healing time and severity when you do experience them.Preventing Outbreaks
The number one trigger for a genital herpes outbreak is stress. By far the best way to prevent outbreak is to eliminate stress from your life to the greatest extent possible. This is often a catch 22 situation, as being diagnosed with herpes and experiencing an outbreak are incredibly stressful situations. Try to keep it all in perspective and remember that it’s just a nasty (and very common) virus, and is nothing to be ashamed of. Having herpes does not mean you are ‘dirty’ or promiscuous, it’s just bad luck.
Eliminating stress from your life can mean taking a step back and examining many aspects of one’s life, and making changes for the better. You may need to look at your work life, your family life and your relationships. Just remember, it’s your health at stake and that’s what’s most important.
Another trigger is sleep deprivation, so try to get the right amount of good, deep sleep every night. The amount of sleep you may need will vary from person to person, and this is another topic entirely, but when you are tired and run down, your body’s natural defenses start to crumble and this can allow herpes to rear it’s ugly head.
Diet is also important. Having a healthy diet with lots of vegetables and vitamins is something everyone should do, and being healthy naturally raises the immune system and keeps outbreaks at bay. In addition to an all round healthy diet, herpes sufferers should avoid foods high in Arginine and try to eat foods that are high in Lysine. Lysine supplements are also available that sufferers can take daily. Some foods that can help combat outbreaks are: Fruits and vegetables, milk and cheese, fish, chicken, beef and lamb, and beans. Foods high in Arginine that should be avoided include: Chocolate, carob, whole wheat, wheat germ, white flour, gelatin, soybeans and oats.
Exercise is another important factor. Getting enough exercise keeps the body healthy, which in turn keeps the immune system defenses up. Overweight and underweight people are more at risk of outbreak than those who are of a healthy weight and size. Exercise is also an excellent stress reducer.
There are a few other things that sufferers can consider, such as caffeine, which is believed by some to have a preventative effect. Gypsy mushrooms are another I recently heard about, which have been shown in clinical tests to contain a polysaccharide that suppresses the herpes virus. If you can find them it might be worth giving them a try.
During an Outbreak
If you are having an outbreak, avoid touching the sores as much as possible, especially scratching. If you do have to touch the sores or discharge, or have scratched them in your sleep, wash your hands thoroughly with an anti-bacterial soap and pay special attention to the fingernails and underneath the nails.
Keep the area dry. Herpes will thrive and flair up under warm and damp conditions and this can extend healing time. In order to speed up the healing process, your best bet is to keep the area of the outbreak as dry as possible, and allow air flow around the genital area. This can be achieved by wearing underwear made from natural fibers, such as cotton. You may want to wear underwear that is slightly looser fitting than your usual underwear too, to avoid pressure on the sores. Change your underwear a few times a day during an outbreak, and remember to wash those separately from your other clothes, preferably in the washing machine on the hot setting. You can also dust a light layer of cornstarch in your underwear to help keep moisture away.
Hygiene is very important, and you may want to consider an extra shower or two a day when you are having an outbreak. If the sores are too painful to dry with a towel, a hairdryer on the cool setting can help dry the area of infection.
Some people recommend anti-bacterial soap (There’s a brand I get called ‘Dettol’ which is excellent) but others have said that it only irritates the sores, so it might be worth trying a few different brands if this is the case. If soap continues to irritate, flush the area as thoroughly as possible with just water.
Salt water baths are also an excellent way to stay clean, and will aid the healing process. This can be a little painful at first, so try getting the water temperature to just above room temperature (i.e. not too hot or too cold) to reduce the stinging.
Drink lots of water. Keeping well hydrated can go a long way towards shortening the time and intensity of a breakout, so drink plenty of water. This will also help reduce pain when urinating.
If you are having pain when urinating, it may seem gross but peeing in the warm bath right before you get out, or in the shower while under the warm water can help reduce the pain.
Melissa Lemon Balm is an excellent natural remedy for herpes outbreaks. You can buy it from health food or specialty natural herbs stores, and it comes in a topical cream form, or you can buy Melissa extract as a powder, which you mix with a little water to form a paste. I use the extract in addition to my regular herbal treatment when I have an outbreak, and it works wonderfully on both the pain and the healing time of an outbreak.
Others have reported great success in using Tea Tree Oil and Aloe Vera (Aloe Vera will grow in a pot just about anywhere, and you can break the stalks off and squeeze out the juice quite easily) Echinacea is also known to help speed up healing time for outbreaks, and taking a Lysine supplement daily will also help speed up healing and is a great preventative too.
Pain relief
If you are experience particularly bad pain or discomfort, over the counter pain medication can help. I get terrible fevers during outbreaks, and so I find plain old aspirin to be of great help, and it helps reduce pain too.
Depending on the person, an ice pack wrapped in a thin towel or a hot water bottle placed on the groin can help soothe a painful outbreak. Some people prefer the cold, and others the warm so try both and see which works for you. For me it’s definitely the ice pack as the cold seems to help more, and I worry that the warm can help create conditions for the outbreak to thrive. However, lots of people do prefer the hot water bottle for pain relief.
Salt water baths can go both ways, sometimes they sting like the blazes while other times they are amazing relief. Even if they do sting at first, usually if you can tough it out for the first minute or so they will eventually be quite soothing. Use proper sea salt or rock salt rather than table salt if possible.
Other things you can do:
As you most likely know, the painful effects of herpes are not limited to the outbreaks and sores. Herpes sufferers also have to deal with a great deal of psychological and emotional pain that goes along with having the virus, and the social stigma that is attached to it. I can tell you from experience that depression, anxiety, guilt, fear and anger are all things that most sufferers will have to deal with, especially the newly diagnosed.
Most cities have support groups for sufferers of STDs, and I was lucky enough to live in a city that had one specifically for genital herpes when I was first diagnosed. While it is scary and embarrassing at first, you soon learn that everyone there is in the same boat, and are a great source of emotional support, and a channel to get all your fears and anxiety off your chest. Never underestimate the power of just getting it all off your chest and being among people who really understand.
If you live outside a city or feel too shy or intimidated, there are some online communities you can join anonymously that can be very helpful too.
Some sufferers may consider some therapy sessions with a professional psychotherapist. This can be very helpful in dealing with the emotional baggage that comes along with having herpes, and most people find that only a few visits are required in order to get some perspective.
Another thing that greatly helped me was relaxation therapy. Meditation, Yoga and Tai Chi worked wonders in reducing stress, bringing a sense of perspective and focus back into my life, and introduced me to amazing new interests. There are many types of relaxation therapy out there, so look into it and find something that works for you.