Question:

I have had Herpes type I & II for approx. 10 years. I don’t remember having a lot of breakouts but over the last 2-1/2 years I decided to take Valtrex daily (500mg). Suggestion from the Doctor. It seems that over the last year and 1/2 I am getting breakouts about every month and a half. (I never remember them being this frequent previously) I am active, healthy, eat well and take care of myself. I thought the longer you have herpes, the fewer breakouts you should have. Why does it seem to be getting worse as time progresses? The breakout itself is not worse, just the frequency has increased. Hope you can help with this.

Answer:

In many cases the most heavy herpes outbreak occur within the first year a person catches the virus. Herpes outbreaks could happen at any given time and it happens by chance. Factors such as an individual’s lifestyle and immune system could have an impact on herpes outbreaks. Like you mentioned eating healthy and taking care of yourself decrease the chance of getting a herpes outbreaks. A person’s diet, smoking, exercise and other factors also play a role in herpes outbreaks. I would suggest taking a look at the web site below. The web site below gives pointers on how to reduce the chance of getting a herpes outbreak. Even the most healthy people could get herpes outbreaks.

Valtrex reduces the chance of getting a herpes outbreak and passing genital herpes to a partner by 50% or more. It is not uncommon to get genital herpes outbreaks even while taking medicine. If the outbreak happen too often I would suggest speaking to a doctor to see what your options are.