If you are taking acyclovir capsules, tablets, or oral suspension, you should drink plenty of water to avoid becoming dehydrated. The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine.
Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine. If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible.
However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.
Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light. Keep from freezing. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.
Error Email field is required. Acyclovir therapy mg given by mouth t. A 2-day course of acyclovir is a convenient alternative for treatment of recurrent genital herpes. Antiviral therapy for recurrent genital herpes decreases the duration of lesions, discomfort, and viral shedding [ 1 ].
To date, such regimens require multiple daily doses administered for 5 days. This dosing pattern was based on the administration of therapy until clinical healing of lesions was noted. However, the duration of viral replication in most lesions caused by recurrent infection in immunocompetent people is short. Therefore, we undertook a study to evaluate whether a shorter regimen of antiviral medication would also decrease the duration of a recurrent genital herpes episode.
Participants and study protocols. Healthy adult men and women with recurrent genital herpes simplex virus type 2 HSV-2 infection were recruited at the University of Washington Virology Research Clinic Seattle.
The trial was randomized, double blind, and placebo controlled. Patients who met the entry criteria were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio to receive either acyclovir mg given by mouth [po] t. The same medication was dispensed for the first and second recurrence during the study. This study design was chosen so that the mean of the results from both recurrences could be used as a unit of analysis. This allowed us to recruit fewer patients than would have been required had each person been observed through only 1 recurrence.
For each episode, each participant was given 3 doses of study medication and a diary card. Subjects were asked to start use of the study medication as soon as possible, but not more than 12 h after the first signs or symptoms of a genital herpes recurrence, and to return to the clinic within 24 h. At that time, herpes recurrence was confirmed by means of a clinical examination and viral culture, and the remaining 3 doses of medication were dispensed.
Patients returned to the clinic for subsequent evaluations on days 2, 3, 5, and 7 after starting treatment, and then every other day thereafter until the lesions healed. Patients were instructed on how to obtain samples for viral culture twice per day, at home, any morning or evening they were not seen in the clinic, and at the initiation of therapy. The times at which samples were obtained for viral cultures, medications were taken, and that lesions healed and symptoms resolved were noted on the diary card.
Each patient was observed for up to 2 sequential recurrences. The study protocol was approved by the University of Washington Human Subjects Review Committee, and all participants provided written consent before any study procedures were begun. Viral isolation was performed as described elsewhere [ 3 ], and all isolates were typed with use of monoclonal antibodies. Statistical analysis. The following efficacy parameters were examined: aborted episode defined as symptoms that did not progress beyond macular stage , lesion duration defined as days with papules, blisters, ulcers, or crusts , episode duration defined as days from beginning of prodrome or appearance of lesions to cessation of all symptoms , episodes with viral shedding defined as isolation of HSV at least once during the episode , and duration of viral shedding defined as time from initiation of therapy to the first negative culture result after the last positive culture result.
For aborted episodes and episodes with viral shedding, person-level counts were used as the unit of measurement i. For patients observed for 1 recurrence, the observed value was used for duration measurements, and for patients observed for 2 recurrences, the mean of the 2 values was used. Time to next recurrence was calculated from the time the first recurrence healed to the first sign or symptom of the next recurrence.
Time to symptom resolution, lesion healing, and cessation of viral shedding in the patients in the 2 arms were compared by use of Cox regression models. These models were stratified by the patients' sex, because the patients' sex did not satisfy the proportional hazard assumption. One hundred thirty-one persons 81 women and 50 men were enrolled into the study. The median age of persons observed through a recurrence was None of the patients reported adverse events, including allergic reactions.
Acyclovir therapy mg po t. The median duration of lesions was 4 days in the acyclovir group and 6 days in the placebo group, with a hazard ratio of 1. The median duration of all episode symptoms was 4 days in the acyclovir group and 6 days in the placebo group hazard ratio, 2. Men differed from women with regard to the duration of lesions and the duration of all episode symptoms: both durations were longer for men, and the estimated effect of the antiviral therapy was less pronounced in men table 3.
Comparison of clinical and virological outcomes among subjects who received either acyclovir mg given by mouth t. Hazard ratios for duration of episode and lesion healing time, stratified by sex. HSV-2 was isolated from 9 participants To ascertain whether acyclovir administration for 2 days does not result in rapid reactivation of HSV infection and a shorter time to a subsequent recurrence when the therapy is discontinued, we compared the time to the second recurrence in 22 men and 37 women who were treated with the study drug for 2 consecutive recurrences.
As shown in figure 1 D , there was no discernible difference between the 2 groups, with a median time of 48 days in the acyclovir group and of In a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial, we showed that acyclovir mg po t. In addition, acyclovir significantly increased the proportion of episodes that involved aborted lesions.
The magnitude of the reduction—from a median duration of lesions of 6 days to 4 days—is similar to that reported in the recent studies of acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir [ 4—6 ]. Our study showed that high-dose episodic therapy with acyclovir for recurrent genital herpes is effective even if it is administered for only 2 days. This therapy is more convenient, and probably more acceptable to patients, than is the standard dosage mg po 5 times a day or mg po t.
The costs of these regimens are likely to remain similar, because the total dose of acyclovir is mg for the shorter regimen, compared with mg for the standard 5-times-a-day regimen. Several observations support the use of short-course therapy for recurrent genital herpes.
First, natural history studies have shown that the duration of viral shedding is short during recurrent episodes of genital herpes [ 7 ]. The delayed-release buccal tablet is applied as a one-time dose. Acyclovir is also sometimes used to treat eczema herpeticum a skin infection caused by the herpes virus to treat and prevent herpes infections of the skin, eyes, nose, and mouth in patients with human immunodeficiency virus HIV , and to treat oral hairy leukoplakia condition that causes hairy white or gray-colored patches on the tongue or inside of the cheek.
This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it and take any remaining doses for that day at evenly spaced intervals.
However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Acyclovir may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking or using this medication. Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture not in the bathroom.
It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily.
To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location — one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet.
Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services at Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory.
Your doctor may order certain lab tests to check your response to acyclovir. Do not let anyone else take or use your medication. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription. It is important for you to keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription over-the-counter medicines you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements.
You should bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to a hospital. It is also important information to carry with you in case of emergencies. Acyclovir pronounced as ay sye' kloe veer. Why is this medication prescribed? How should this medicine be used?
Other uses for this medicine What special precautions should I follow? What special dietary instructions should I follow?
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