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Acyclovir: a Hero on the Way

It is possible for a hero to destroy evil for good in the movie; it is hardly so in the real life. Quite often evil is stronger, more inventive and tough. A hero can scare it away and make it hide in the safe place, where it will become mightier to revenge some day with the double force. The bitter truth of life is that reality always differs from fiction: it is more dangerous and problems are not that easy to solve.

Herpes seems to be one of those immortal evils, which stab in the back at the most unexpected moment. This disease is caused by either herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 or type 2. Once they enter the body of the victim, they stay there forever, provoking multiple recurrences. A person can suffer several herpes outbreaks a month, which is always very depressing. Redness of the skin, itching and pain are those distressing feelings, which will make anyone down. If herpes happens to take place on the facial area, it cannot be hidden even under the make-up; therefore, a person suffers not physically only, but psychologically as well.

The first hero to fight herpes was a prescription medication Acyclovir (Zovirax is its brand name), which appeared on the market in 1984 after the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval. It comes in the form of either oral pill or ointment; the latter is less effective, though. The main target of the drug is the virus itself. The hero suppresses it, decreasing its ability to replicate itself. This helps make the primary outbreak shorter and less painful (the first one is the worst in the case of herpes) as well as decrease the number and duration of further recurrences.

Acyclovir is very effective. The additional advantage of it is its safety: the medication fights HSV only without affecting the cells of the human body. Although Zovirax is not approved for the treatment of pregnant women, the studies show that it causes no birth defects and even the new-born babies can safely be treated with this medication.

One more merit of Acyclovir is the mild side effects, which usually are nausea and diarrhea. The only drawback of the drug is that it delays and decreases antibody response to HSV infection in the human body: usually our organisms produce their own heroes to fight herpes, while Zovirax negatively affects this process.

The treatment with Acyclovir can be either episodic (only during the outbreak) or suppressive (from 6 to 12 months in case of frequent and painful herpes recurrences). A patient should take Zovirax 5 times a day if fighting the disease episodically, a suppressive treatment means 2, 3 or 4 pills a day (a doctor prescribes the necessary dose in every particular case).

Acyclovir has its competitors – the newer generation of the drugs to treat and prevent herpes. They are famciclovir (Famvir) and valacyclovir (Valtrex). The main difference between the older and newer medications lies in the dosage: patients, treated with Famvir and Valtrex, need two or even one pill a day (in both episodic and suppressive treatment).

In addition, the side effects are a little bit different. Here Acyclovir has an advantage, since Valtrex can cause headache besides nausea, and Famvir treatment can result in vomiting, abdominal pain and dizziness.

To make a conclusion, I would like to say that though Acyclovir is the first FDA approved medication for the distressing disease, which tortures millions of people, it is very effective and even has merits over the newer drugs. However, due to the existence of several options for fighting herpes, patients have a wider range of choice. Therefore, everyone can find the pill, which suits him/her best.

Ivanna

External resources
http://www.drugs.com/cons/Aciclovir.html
http://www.gsk.com.au/gskinternet/publishing.nsf/Content/Zovirax
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a681045.html