acyclovir cold sores dosage
Acyclovir is an antiviral drug. It slows the growth and spread of the herpes virus so that the body can fight off the infection. Acyclovir will not cure herpes, but it can lessen the symptoms of the infection. Acyclovir is used to treat infections caused by herpes viruses. Illnesses caused by herpes viruses include genital herpes, cold sores, shingles, and chicken pox. Acyclovir may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide. Usual Adult Dose for Herpes Simplex - Suppression. Daily Suppressive Therapy for Recurrent Disease: 400 mg orally 2 times a day. -Alternative regimens from 200 mg orally 3 times a day to 200 mg orally 5 times a day have been used. Concomitant HIV infection: 400 to 800 mg orally 2 to 3 times a day. If acyclovir is your drug of choice ( famvir is a 1 time dose, valtrex is a 2x/day for 1 day dose ), try 800mg 3x/day for 2 days. it works best if started at the very first tingle /sign of a potential cold sore. Usual Adult Dose for Herpes Simplex - Mucocutaneous/Immunocompetent Host. Treatment of First Episode of Genital Herpes: 200 mg orally every 4 hours 5 times a day for 10 days (manufacturer dosing) 400 mg orally 3 times a day for 5 to 10 days (CDC recommendation) Acyclovir dose for cold sores. Common Questions and Answers about Acyclovir dose for cold sores. zovirax. I've been getting cold sores for as long as I can remember. I have never been tested for HSV 1 but always assumed that's what it is. I used to only get 1 or 2 every year or two. But, recently they have been more and more frequent. Acyclovir dosage cold sores. Common Questions and Answers about Acyclovir dosage cold sores. zovirax. At first I was getting cold sores about every 4 to 6 weeks. I then started taking 500 mg of Valtrex daily for suppression therapy. This seemed to reduce the frequency of my outbreaks to about once every 2 to 3 months. DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Acyclovir is an antiviral drug, a synthetic nucleoside analogue, that has inhibitory activity (interferes with viral replication) against the herpes viruses, including herpes simplex 1 and 2 (cold sores and genital herpes), varicella-zoster (shingles and chickenpox), and Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis). The treatment dose for famvir is 1000 mg twice a day for one day for genital herpes, and for cold sores, take a single dose of three 500-mg tablets at the first sign or symptom of an outbreak (within 1 hour). After that, you could go right into the suppression dose, which is 250 mg twice a day. Acyclovir (Zovirax) tablets may slightly shorten the duration of pain and the healing time of a first attack of cold sores. Common side effects of acyclovir tablets include nausea, diarrhea, and headache. A lower dose of oral acyclovir is needed for people who have reduced kidney function. But some antiviral medicines (such as acyclovir or famciclovir) when taken orally (tablets) may be helpful in reducing the frequency and severity of attacks of cold sores. Doctors may prescribe oral antiviral medicines that can be taken daily to prevent future outbreaks of cold sores.
800mg 3x/day for 2 days.