Friday, 14 February 2014

Words of praise: Acyclovir



Words of praise: Acyclovir

I carry the lip herpes virus and a few times a year it breaks out (Herpes labialis, cold sore, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_labialis), usually in times of stress, overexposure to sun (weak sunburn) or when I have another health problem. Untreated, it takes several days until it reaches its maximum extent and then about two weeks to heal. It’s not painful, but looks horrible, itches and is inconvenient and un-kissable.

But there is help: Aciclovir! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acyclovir As soon as I notice it (light itching, blister), I apply an acyclovir containing cream, there is no outbreak and it heals within days.

I bought cream containing acyclovir once in Thailand (my local pharmacy in Bangkok), once in Lao (Luang Prabang), and in both cases the salesperson immediately knew what I was talking about and what I wanted. (I was prepared for long spelling, extensive explanation, asking superior, checking stock, and finally “sorry don’t have”.) The smallest packing is 1 gram and costs 20 Baht (Thailand, from memory) or 5000 Kip (Lao).


There we have a widely available, cheap and efficient means to treat lip herpes.

1 comment:

  1. Today, I went to the beach with my kids. I found a sea
    shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She
    placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was
    a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
    She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off topic but I had to tell someone!

    ReplyDelete

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