Natural Herpes Treatment

People who have herpes but don’t know it can still be passing along the infection - or “shedding” it, Reuters news service reports. One in six adults in the U.S. has genital herpes, making screening for the disease very important. Genital herpes not only causes painful blisters but it can increase your risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

“The people who are symptomatic are really the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr. Christine Johnston, of the University of Washington in Seattle. “We are not having any impact on the epidemic by ignoring it.”

In Johnson’s study, researchers followed 498 people who had antibodies in their blood against genital herpes. This shows they had all been infected, even though about one in six never had any symptoms. Although it is unclear how much virus is needed to infect someone else, Johnston said, the amount of virus shed in the absence of sores was the same for people even without symptoms. Doctors recommend frank conversations with your partner about herpes.

A “magic” herb, Carissa Edulis,  that drew thousands of people  to a remote Loliondo village in Tanzania was identified by Kenyan scientists a few years ago as a cure for a drug-resistant strain of a sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhoea. This herb also is believed to cure many other diseases besides gonorrhoea.  The Kamba refer to as mukawa or mutote and use it for chest pains, while the Nandi boil the leaves and bark to treat breast cancer, headache and chest pains.

Researchers discovered the plant could be used for the treatment of the  herpes virus. Led by Dr Festus M Tolo of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), the team from the University of Nairobi and the National Museums of Kenya found the herb could provide an alternative remedy for herpes infections. 

“An extract preparation from the roots of Carissa edulis, a medicinal plant locally growing in Kenya, has exhibited remarkable anti-herpes virus activity for both wild type and drug resistant strains,” they reported in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.

Is there evidence that  herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is linked to Alzheimer’s disease? Canadian researchers Luc Letenneur and Karine Peres demonstrated a dramatic increase in antibodies directed against HSV1 in Alzheimer’s patients compared to age-matched individuals without the disease.

Also, professor Ruth Itzhaki from the University of Manchester explored the relationship of HSV1 to Alzheimer’s disease in her landmark article published in 2008. Entitled “Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Alzheimer’s disease: The Enemy Within,” Dr. Itzhaki revealed that HSV1 infects the brains of 90% of adults. If HSV1 is the cause Alzheimer’s, that would be a necessary characteristic when compared with the very high prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease.  She points out, HSV1 remains for life in the nervous system and may undergo periodic reactivation causing persistent brain inflammation. For example, HSV1 is the cause of recurrent fever blisters that occur when the virus gets activated in the brain. The most compelling evidence linking HSV1 to Alzheimer’s disease is her recent discovery that HSV1 DNA is actually located  within the beta amyloid plaque - the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Itzhaki has concluded, “Our present data suggest that this virus is a major cause of amyloid plaques and hence probably a significant etiological factor in Alzheimer’s disease. They point to the usage of antiviral agents to treat the disease and possibly of vaccination to prevent it.”

Beta amyloid accumulates in the Alzheimer’s brain as a defense to rid the brain of a variety of bacteria and viruses.

Conventional medical practices normally prescribe Acyclovir ointment or other topical medications to treat herpes outbreaks.

Recently some new research emerged indicating that nature may provide an alternative solution. This remedy supposedly works faster than any of the conventional  mainstream treatments. I will explain further on why I use the word “supposedly”.

For some believers in natural cures, honey has long been regarded as  a natural wound healer and infection fighter. An unnamed researcher treated patients with Acyclovir for one herpes outbreak and honey for another.  Overall healing time with honey was 43 percent better than with Acyclovir for sores on the lips and 59 percent better for genital sores. This news sounds good, but I take this report  with a fair amount of skepticism.

This news report does not contain many details, such as the name of the researcher, the number of patients involved,  references to any peer reviews of the study or if this study had any official sanction, so for me, this puts the article I discovered on the Internet  in question. When you are suffering from herpes it is difficult sometimes remain a little skeptical when hope is presented, but there are real clinical studies of alternative herpes treatments on record and the hopeful investigator needs to sort herpes simplex fact from fiction.

I personally would experiment with honey on a herpes lesion if I were curious enough, but would never expect this “natural treatment” to prevent spreading the infection. A herpes sufferer must remain vigilant to never infect another person.

A research team  at Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered the unusual structure of a key member of the protein complex that allows a herpes virus to invade cells. The new map details an essential piece of the herpes virus “cell-entry machinery,” that provides scientists with a new target for antiviral drugs.

“We hope that determining the structure of this essential piece of the herpes virus cell-entry machinery will help us answer some of the many questions about how herpes virus initiates infection. Knowing the structures of cell-entry proteins will help us find the best strategy for interfering with this pervasive family of viruses,” said Tirumala K. Chowdary, a postdoctoral associate at Tufts.

For now, there is no cure for herpes viruses. Upon infection, the viruses remain in the body for life and can stay inactive for long periods of time. When active, these various  herpes viruses can cause cold sores, blindness, encephalitis or cancers.

Starpharma is in beginning to consider clinical trials of its VivaGel product in women at risk of contracting genital herpes, the  Chief Executive Officer Jackie Fairley said in an interview in Singapore. The Melbourne-based company licensed its VivaGel- coated condoms in 2008 to SSL International Plc, maker of the world’s best-selling Durex brand.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that no cure exists for genital herpes, a condition that infects about one in six Americans and produces painful sores and increases HIV transmission. Other gels are being developed to prevent HIV infections, VivaGel is the only microbicide designed to stop herpes from spreading, Fairley said.

Today, if you have herpes, a natural product called Dynamiclear is very effective in controlling herpes outbreaks because it kills herpes viral particles when applied to  open herpes lesions. Fewer herpes particles remain and this means fewer and weaker outbreaks.

Dynamiclear has improved! It still kills the herpes virus on contact but now it is easier to use. I received information from the manufacturers that I will share with you.

“We listened to our customers feedback and as a result we have worked with our chemists to enhance the Dynamiclear formulation to include a moisturizing agent (to minimize stinging and improve recovery) and we developed a premixed formula for direct application (no mix). On top of these improvements we greatly improved the packaging look and feel and product delivery system.”

Product Description:

Dynamiclear is a powerful Anti-viral solution that gives users Rapid Relief in One Application. Each vial contains 100 single applications making it abundant value. It also comes with a 6 month “no hassle” money back guaranteed to insure you results.

Dynamiclear slogan:

Product Ingredients:
Hypericum perforatum, Calendula officinalis, Cupric sulfate pentahydrate, Vegetable Derived Glycerol, Aloe vera barbadensis, Naturally Sourced Vitamin E, Purified Water.

When you are suffering from a herpes outbreak, your frustration over the lack of control regarding the situation can be disconcerting. A growing patch of herpes blisters is quite anxiety producing. There are various prescription drugs that can be of benefit to some people. Zovirax, Acyclovir, Valtrex and Famvir are prescription drugs that can  be taken everday as a “suppressant” or just when an outbreak occurs.  These drugs do have possible side-effects and can be very costly in some countries, but they do provide a measure of control over the herpes simplex virus.

Steps You Can Take to Gain Control of Herpes Outbreak Episodes:

1)  As with any disease  an approach to improving diet and nutrition should be taken. An appropriate diet high in lysine and low in arginine, with vitamin supplements, may be beneficial for those suffering from viral diseases, in particular the herpes virus.

2) There is a nonprescription topical treatment that kills the herpes virus on contact when applied to open lesions. It is not a cure but can reduce the intensity and the frequency of outbreaks.

Ingrediants: Sulfur is one of the main ingredients in this aqueous, odorless herbal base.  This liquid is applied to the site of an active herpes outbreak when open lesions have appeared. The sulfate molecule is an important component which assists the solution in penetrating the viral membrane, causing the destruction of the virus on contact. Unlike sulfur taken internally, the sulfur in Dynamiclear [the name of the nonprescription antiviral liquid] is applied externally and is unlikely to cause any reaction in people who are sulfur intolerant.

An intersting news report from the  Press Trust of India describing how scientists can now “see” and “touch” a herpes virus particle.

WASHINGTON:

“Scientists have led to the first description of the mechanics of so-called nuclear herpes virus capsids — complex icosahedral protein shells covering and shielding the genetic material of the virus.

Nuclear Herpes Simplex Virus particles measure only 125 nanometres, and therefore, the structure and surface of individual particles can only be studied with methods that have a resolution higher than that of a light microscope.

With the help of an Atomic Force Microscope, one can now ‘feel’ the particles and image them by scanning systematically over the surface, like the needle on a record player. From these measurements, an international team can assemble a detailed topograph ic relief of individual viral structures. This can be done in liquid under conditions mimicking living cells. Most importantly, this system allows the mechanical manipulation of particles, as one really touches them.

The researchers used this approach to gain new insights into the mechanics of these viral particles: they punched holes into them, one by one. The force needed to do this gave information about the elastic and mechanical properties of the herpes virus pa rticles.” - Press Trust of India

Herpes News:

A study published on March 26 in PLoS Pathogens descibes a  protein, called VP16, which acts as the gatekeeper for the damaging, infective activity of the herpes virus. Mice were infected with herpes virus carrying a mutated, inactive form of VP16. After the initial infection had faded, the researchers stressed the mice by raising body temperature and watched to see how many mice had a recurrence of a viral outbreak. Stress did not reactivate the virus in these mice.

But in mice infected with herpes carrying the functional form of VP16 did come back, suggesting that VP16 is the key to reactivation.

In addition to pinpointing VP16 as a key player in reawakening the virus, the new study also shows that the VP16 gene becomes active much earlier in the reactivation than in the initial infection. The VP16 protein is made by the active gene in a small number of neurons, which is enough to begin the cascade of infectivity anew. “This paper comes back to say VP16 is the first triggering event,” Triezenberg says.

Explore this blog for more herpes information about controlling outbreaks naturally