Genital herpes - any advice on keeping it under control and speeding up healing?

[Notgrumpyjustquiet]

I caught it about 6 years ago and had a few flare ups in quick succession then rarely since then until it's started again twice in the last couple of months. I'm wondering if anyone has any top tips to reduce the duration of it once it starts or better yet stop it flaring up in the first place. I've tried rinsing myself with salt water when I'm sore, not using soap, I take a multi vit and mineral supplement and am in good health otherwise. I don't get facial coldsores so I'm going to ask a daft question now - could I use something that would treat coldsores on my nethers..?

Have you tried using Sudocrem or a similar barrier cream? Not sure if it reduces the flare up at all, but it'll help make it less sore and stop it "chaffing" so much on anything or stinging. I wouldn't recommend using a traditional cold sore cream! I think a doctor or GUM clinic can also give you antiviral drugs to shorten and lessen the symptoms.

Have you been to the doctors? Oral Zovirax tablets is the recommended treatment, like with facial herpes take at the first sign. Don't use the cream down there.

No not been to doctor or gum clinic, well not since original diagnosis. The trouble I'm having with knowing that a flare up is coming I'm not sure what the first sign of it is. The nearest I've got to figuring it out is, I read somewhere that the thing to look out for is feeling like you might have a cold coming on. So I get the sniffles for a day or two which then doesn't turn into an actual cold, quite a lot given that I use public transport and work in an open office, and then very occasionally one of these bouts of sniffles turns out to be the start of it. I find it quite difficult to tell that it's brewing IYSWIM. And by the time I have realised, the blisters are present.

Ask your dr for valocylovir . Take daily. In my case it's the difference between an outbreak every couple of months or one in four years (I forgot the valtrex for 3 days).

Pm'd you op.