happyman_adventurous

On Ali Express I found: 1) lots of different shaped/colored male condoms that have a testicle bag. Some of them look like super-thick, with textures, etc, more from the BDSM world. Other look thinner and more suited for normal practice, yet they all look a bit too much compared to a normal condom 2) full latex boxers / slips, some of them (again) thicker than others. Some of them made with silk (?). They have a bag for the penis. On an indian website called Kaslus I found: 1) "Double hole condom" that would cover all of the penis shaft (and let the testicles "free"). Looks too thick. Again on Aliexpress searching by "double hole condom" I found: 1) "Reusable penis sleeve extender delay ejaculation". Again, too thick. I would say proceed with CAUTION with those as ejaculation delayers can fvck you up your penis forever altogether. There's a famous Reddit post where a guy tells how using a penile ring destroyed his penis when he woke up the next morning... Not sure what to think. I couldn't find something as discreet / thin as your regular condoms that won't freak out our partners... so the challenge is still there. I may try a double hole one if it doesn't pressure it too much.

Congrats for your succesful disclosure!! Theoretically the virus sheds less and less as the years go by (8 years with mild / no outbreaks, that sounds excellent, I hope to get that lucky), but transmission is still possible. To reduce it to something really safe, I would take anti-virals and use the condom. However, some discordant couples use only one of those methods, and even none of them (so if they see no outbreak, they do it), and they do not pass the virus. It's a huge decision, and it depends on your balance between security & convenience. Regarding the fear that anti-virals can "awake" the virus, because you are re-manipulating something that was dormant... it make sense to our normal way of thinking, but I don't really know enough about the anti-virals mechanisms to say if it's like that or not. I mean, maybe you won't "awake" the virus at all and will just deprive it from its replication powers. It would be cool if someone could clear that up. Does the medicine "awakes" a long-dormant virus?

Entrepreneurs with capital are missing a HUGE market. There was two initiatives, discontinued, that I heard of: - Scroguard - Scrotector I myself thought about designing one along the lines of Scrotector, but with an extra whole for the testicles, that are (as far as I know) less risky when it comes to transmission (less friction). This way it would be easier to fit in (latex for the testicles sounds like too claustraphobic for our poor balls, at least for me). Why aren't companies doing it? They are missing MILLIONS of dollars... The thing is, you have to cover the base of the penis and you can only do it when you have a "ring"/"condom entrance" that touches the abdomen so it seals all the vulnerable skin. What do you think people, should we start a campaing for that? Note: I'm reposting this because the other message contained images and links and get caught as spam (I think).

Hi brother, I'm no doctor and don't really know what can it be, but as far as I know it is really uncommon for herpes to affect the throat/esophagus (it usually affects the lips, in people with a normal inmune system). While you wait for the STD test, and if you want a professional to reassure you, I would suggest you go to the Terry Warren forum: https://westoverheights.com/herpes-questions/ She is a clinician with lots of years of experience, and she charges a bit to answer questions but she can tell you more. Take care,

Hi forum, I'm on daily acyclovir and it works great. However sometimes I have mild "pre-outbreaks", with some reddishness (or small dots) that go away the next day. This made me think about something: is asymptomatic shedding really asymptomatic? Or is it just a way the medical community has to say that mild, undetected symptoms can be contagious? If that was the case, every shedding would be Symptomatic, and a careful examination could always detect some reddish area. Is this inaccurate? Is there such thing as asymptomatic shedding? Just being curious/skeptic. Cheers,

Hey @mr_hopp thanks for the heads up!

I have been thinking about this lately, and I have been feeling it yet for longer, so I wanted to share. I have ups and downs, mind you. But the ups are getting more and more solid, and I feel a better person (sexier, manlier person) than the non-herpes me. Having herpes has grounded me. Without herpes I was a much more insecure person. Now, my destiny has been "cleared out" in that sense; I know I have it, and I have to live with it, and this gives me a new power, a combination of urgency, ferociousness (lol, sorry) and "destiny". It has reinforced my identity (and my sexual identity too) somehow. I have a much clearer self-image and grounded feel. I go straight to sexually conquer my partner now - as I didn't know how to do before. The feel of being "half-out-of-the-race" makes me stronger and more bold. Non-carriers can't know this sensation. You will rebound. That's it any similar sensations are welcome as we can enrich each other. Best to all,

Hi chichi, besides what Adrial said, which is one of the best advice you can get on the internet, I wanted to reassure your open sex life will survive, and be almost the same, if not the same, and if not better. Incredible right? Why better? At least for me (and I'll try to open a post describing it) having herpes has grounded me. Without herpes I was a much more insecure person. Now, my destiny has been "cleared out" in that sense; I know I have it, and I have to live with it, and this gives me a new power, a combination of urgency, ferociousness (lol, sorry) and "destiny". It has reinforced my identity (and my sexual identity too) somehow. I have a much clearer self-image and grounded feel. I go straight to sexually conquer my partner now - as I didn't know how to do before. The feel of being "half-out-of-the-race" makes me stronger and more bold. Non-carriers can't know this sensation. You will rebound. Second thing I'd like to say: if you take some steps every day (really every day) you will be fine, with minimum outbreaks, and with minimun risk of asymptomatic transmission. This steps involve a super-healthy, super-natural lifestyle, with several natural supplements (search the forum for that)...combined with: daily medication. Avoiding sex during outbreaks (mutual masturbation and cuddling is fine, the rest is not). Using condoms. I don't know about female vs. female condoms but there has to be something Taking your shower before and after sex. Avoiding shaving yourself or your partners. High risk of transmission if the uninfected person is freshly shaven. Guess how I discovered it. With guys, if you feel like with a weakened inmune system, or stressed out, or any other "good condition" for the virus, have a softer sex so there aren't micro-abrasions that could transmit the virus when skin to skin genital sex produces (remember the base of the penis isn't covered with male condoms, a little better with female condoms). Avoid arginine-rich foods and take L-lysine foods and supplementation, alongside the medication, daily. All those steps seem annoying, but you get use to them and they are part of you soon. The daily medicine and l-lysine for example, it's a micro ritual that will protect you and your partners so it's one of the uber important routines in your life. It takes a second. Without herpes you would lose that second scrolling the internet somewhere else so nothing really lost here... Third thing: disclosing. You have a free lifestyle regarding sex which is great. Many people in your lifestyle will have herpes (even unkowingly), I don't remember the stats right now but it's very spread in the population, this will get you some interesting matches automatically. The difficult part is disclosing. Not easy when you have lots of opportunities (well it is never easy, but you'll have to do it more, some say you get used to this too). Many people are prejudiced against it. But many other, the truly valuable, will be not, and they will accept you. Mind you, when a non-carrier accepts you, that hot sex you are going to have will go through the roof. So, please, do not worry more than necessary. Take your steps, get your protection, tell your partners. Many of them, being polyamorous, will have a) an open mind or b) a knowdlege about this particular condition, as in "technically aware". Others will be directly known carriers. I'm not sure about it but I guess it can exist a discordance between carriers and one has HSV1 and the other HSV2 so prevention may be needed anyways not to get "the whole collection". As Rocco Sifredi, the classic italian porn star told some years ago, in porn "Everybody has Herpes". I'm not a porn enthusiast myself, but you get the idea. Life can be awesome anyways. Best,

Great tips, I will add Aloe Vera (both taken as a food, and applied to the sores for a quicker recovery). Coconut oil, ingested, is a great (easy and savoury) tool to keep your inmune system in top shape. L-lysine, as mentioned, binds to arginine, which is also an aminoacid that's present in a lot of foods (chocolate, peanuts, quinoa...yes, sadly!). L-lysine then "compensates" the arginine in your body to avoid it fuels the virus. Zinc is good for your inmune system in general too. I also drink plenty of mineral water every day, and take fish oil and multi-vitamins. Combined with daily meds, I have improved a lot. Only a tiny breakout, the size of a period like this one, for monts so far ---> º It went away very quickly too. I also use these ingredients daily or every other day in my food intake: green leafy vegetables, cinnamon, turmeric, green tea, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic (excellent anti-viral), and blueberries. Aloe Vera almost daily. Conconut oil Daily. L-lysine daily when I buy it (not cheap in my area). I should be more structured but I'm not, and I combine those things as I feel / as I have them. So far the results are good and I try to listen to my body as much as I can. Have a great evening and best to you.

Hi @alllgood I would say he is completely safe. Penis to butt, "skin-to-skin" contact, is hyper-safe, unless there are open sores involved in your butt skin, which wasn't the case. This is because the butt skin is too thick to allow the virus to get out of your body if there aren't open sores. The virus cannot shed asymptomatically on the butt's skin - as it can do on the vagina labia / internal mucose or the penile skin (thin surfaces). The butt, the tights, or the under-the-belly / belly area, are thick by nature and will contain the virus. The only case when those areas are compromised is if there were "open sores". If there weren't, then the risk is non-existent, and your boy is 100% safe. "Dry humping": clothes are in between, the risk is zero. Touching down there with clothes and then touching himself: the same thing, the risk is zero. The virus dies if it touches clothes, it needs consistent and rough "human cell-to-human cell" communication to spread. Sources about skin thickness / clothes and the virus can be found here: Terri Warren https://westoverheights.com/forum/ Personal note We can get really paranoid about herpes, but if you take the essential precautions, consistently, you'll be fine. If you take your daily medicine, do it with condoms, and avoid sex during outbreaks, your life can be plentiful and have plenty of relaxed, awesome sex and intimacy, and you won't spread it - provided you follow those guidelines systematically. There are people who do it without condoms, and take the medication daily, and avoid sex during outbreaks - and they won't pass it to their lifetime partners. Here you'll find some cool stats about transmission: https://herpesopportunity.com/downloads/herpes-opportunity-disclosure-handout.pdf Take care and best regards,

Hi @Citygirl99, the statistic is 1% after 1 year of regular sex (2 times per week). So it's nothing close to 1% for every sexual act, but 1% after 104 encounters (2 times per week during 52 weeks in a year). That makes it 100 times less likely to catch it than 1%: in reality is 0.01% for encounter, if you used daily meds and condoms during non-outbreak times. As a personal note, I'd say that: - if you combine daily meds - ...with condoms - ...during non-outbreak time - ...having a shower before and after sex - ... having a softer sex, that doesn't cause micro-abrasions - ...not razor-shaving your or (even more importantly) HIS genital area (razor-shaving increases a lot the risk of acquiring / transmission)... ...then the possibility of transmission is practically 0 (zero) for your boyfriend. If you keep all risky factors below danger zone, you are quite fine. Here you have the Herpes facts sheet to handle to your boyfriend, so he may understand it better: - https://herpesopportunity.com/downloads/herpes-opportunity-disclosure-handout.pdf Hope you're fine and take care.

Here's a link to a 2001 study where they say that condom usage would be more protective to women than to men, but I don't get the reason why... - https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/ipsrh/2001/12/condoms-reduce-womens-risk-herpes-infection-do-not-protect-men Literally, they say this: "Our data indicate that condoms markedly reduce the risk of acquisition of HSV-2 in women, but not in men." They deduce that the reason for the difference may be that when used correctly, condoms fully cover the skin of the penis, from which the virus is shed, but do not protect men against exposure to all female genital sites from which the virus may be shed. The researchers point out that "contact with vulvar or perianal areas, the most common sites of viral shedding in women, may be a factor in the lower effectiveness of condoms in transmission from women to men." However, some doctors say that the abdominal skin, or the tights skin, is too thick for the virus to penetrate (or to go out if the virus was already inside). If the infection occurs on the balls' bag (thinner skin), then it's another story but... would this be even possible? (I ask because balls can touch, yes, but not exactly in a "friction" manner)... If thick skin is a barrier, and if the testicles are usually safe, the infection from woman to man should occur when a shedding vulvar area frictions against thinner skin penile areas (shaft, like the penis base) - but in such a case the incidence of infection should be THE SAME between sexes, because an infected shaft would be as dangerous as an infected vulvar area - if a condom were used and failed to cover some of the penis base. Isn't it strange that women are more protected than men? I can't understand the results of this study. The only explanation I can find is that the female can transmit the virus through some vaginal fluids. Those fluids could get their way into uncovered places, then some friction could make the rest. Any ideas are welcome to understand this better.

Hi @mstanya1234 you can find it on any Sports Nutrition store, some gyms will also sell it, or you can order it from the internet. It usually is a cheap product, very safe and widely used. You have to be careful to check that the Creatine does not have an additional component called Arginine. Arginine is good for herpes (it awakes it/makes it stronger) and bad for us, so it has to be pure Creatine, 100%, with nothing added to it. Creatine has many other benefits that you can search online, is like a good supplement. However, I want to stress two things: 1) it is not sure it works for everybody 100% of the time 2) it may be ineffective keeping at bay the asymptomatic shedding (that is, when you are contagious even if no sores are visible). So I would take it as an experiment, and I would do it ONLY if I wasn't to have any sex for a while. Otherwise we could be putting in danger our partners. Best regards,

My last post was removed, I think because someone thought it was spam or an ad (far from it!) so I re-post this. Here's an interesting link about Creatine Monohidrate and its effects over herpes. Creatine is a generic substance (powder) found on skeletal muscle of animals (pork, poultry, any animal), that athletes and fitness enthusiasts use to increase power and muscle mass. It is very well studied and used widely under many different brands. Apparently, in 1998, a doctor in the US military found out that several marines who were herpes positive stopped asking for their Acyclovir prescription to treat the infection during several months. He wondered why, and started to investigate, only to find out that the marines had all started a supplementation program using Creatine Monohidrate. - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/does-supplemental-creatine-prevent-herpes-recurrences-PiB9R0qv1w This is encouraging, as Creatine Monohidrate is much more safe and cheap than the prescription drugs. The paper mentions that in another study, it was found out that cyclocreatine, a synthetic compound with the same structure and function than creatine, "inhibits the replication of [...] herpes simplex type 1 and 2"), which would stop asymptomatic shedding as well. Caution! It could it be anecdotical. We aren't sure if asymptomatic shedding is stopped, so you could be contagious even if no OB are present. But for those *who aren't having sex* it could be worth a try. Cheers,

The virus dies very very quickly when it's out of the body, so the risk of transmission when there's no sexual intercourse or skin-to-skin friction is zero. No skin-to-towel or skin-to-shower or skin-to-WC will pass the virus. The virus needs the body's hot environment and nervous cells system to survive so you don't have to worry at all about contamination in everyday situations other than sexual relations. Best,

Hi @lovinglife, I can feel you are a very smart, organized and cute girl, and I know you will 100% destroy (atomic bomb-style) all those negative thoughts that chase you (which are very logical, by the way). You say this: "At the same time, I feel so incredibly angry and betrayed by our education and health care system for not informing us better or encouraging people to get tested." This is true. Doctors don't seem to be educated enough, they even tell people it's not a big deal (when the initial soul-searching it IS a big deal), and teachers are even less inclined to learn and teach about it, so in general the idea of having an herpes+ population isn't a big concern for any of them. Once again, this opens up some speculation, and conspiracy theories arise: Big Pharma may like herpes+ people because this is easy money for them, so, why bother preventing? You also said something cool here: "To be honest, the stigma is so ingrained in me that even the idea of having a relationship with another herpes+ person freaks me out a little." But if you have a relationship with an herpes+ person, he won't be 100% of the time outbreaking. If he takes care of himself (healthy lifestyle, suppressive therapy) the herpes recurrences will be very, very anecdotical, and most of the time he will be normal and sexy. The same goes for you. If you take care of yourself, everything will be 99% normal again. It's a process of acceptance, like a shed skin process: you transfer your old self to your new situation. It is perfectly doable after some time and reflection, and you can be 100% happy after you complete this journey, even if you have this annoying skin condition for life. You keep being a cool, wonderful person with plenty of powers to be happy anyways. Most of the time you will keep it at bay, and it won't interfere a bit in your life. If I had to have a relationship with an herpes+ girl (and statistically I probably know some in my entourage that are carriers), I wouldn't mind for a minute about her herpes - I would wonder instead about her personality, her sex-appeal, her feminity, her values - nothing of this is touched in any way by any herpes even when she's having an outbreak - unless, precisely, she gets drown by all the self-inflicted fears and negative thoughts that exists primary in her head, because she will become an evasive and/or depressed person, and THEN there is a problem. So, how to avoid the negativity? That is the real question now. The illness brings to the table all those fears, this is part of it, and they are founded in our own good will towards other people, and desire to please, which are good, wonderful things that we have to keep, adapting them to our new situation. We have to understand that we aren't really touched in our essence by this virus. We are "we" despite this virus. It is an annoying complement in us. People get the flu all the time: they are contagious, they feel miserable, but the flu doesn't change them, right? For girls there's an additional annoyance, because you usually have more pain than us guys, and it takes longer to heal if it's internal. Honestly, I would concern more about that than about my supposed "dirtiness". My soul is so clean than I marvel with myself. My body is so good looking even if it hosts that little fucker. I am so powerful and I know it. Do I have an intermittent skin condition? Yes. But I do love myself exactly the same. I know I'm lovable like any of us, I'm bright as any of us can be, I'm funny, and a person who can make any woman very happy, WITH this virus inside of me. If you keep this in your mind, like a long-term mindset / goal / commitement to yourself, you will destroy all your fears, and herpes will be a very minor thing in your life, for a fact. Best of the best to you,

I contacted the company and they said the project was an inside joke, but that they had received so many questions about it that they were thinking on making the project real. However, I didn't percieve any real commitment when they talked about it, so I think someone else will have to do it - if someone does it at all. I would happily buy those FOR LIFE, and I even suggested to create a pre-buying campaing or making sure they have enough buyers. I even mentioned some crowfunding strategy so they can rise capital. It would be a good business, many males infected with H would buy those condomns! I don't understand why it hasn't been done so far. Cheers,

Now that you talk about it, I also have a new strange sensation on my left leg, like if some "bolts" of energy leaked that way... strange, herpes-related or just paranoia? i don't know. During the first 6 months I had recurrent outbreaks, one per month. However this has stopped following a "super healthy recharging program" of my own creation. Healthy foods and supplements are a life-saver for me. I tend to think that medication works best when other factors are in place - specially good nutrition and supplements. I would take extra care in that department, and see if, combined with the medication, the sinergy of both actions helps keeping the virus at bay. If you smoke or drink, this can create problems too, so I would prepare myself to stop those bad habits in the first place. Reducing stress, keeping hydrated, reading a book, taking some green tea or just hanging out will help - everything that makes you happy is a plus against the virus. The best moments for the virus to appear are during stressy times, a low inmune system period, or an acidic body (drink natural lemon juice to correct the acidity), etc. We have to reduce those "optimal" situations when the virus thrive - and the best way to do so is keeping a relaxed long-term mindset, and taking the healthy nutrition route. I would bet for that strategy, and see if the medication gets its grip against the virus under those better, healthier conditions. All the best,

When I had my first outbreak it lasted like a month and a half. It didn't go away until I started investigating, and found out I was doing lots of things wrong, like taking some delicious peanut butter toasts to "ease the tragedy". Little I knew I was making my life more miserable doing so! I also wanted to do sport to "forget about it", and keeping the area wet because of the sweat wasn't helping. Neither the super-manly efforts I wanted to perform to feel myself a little better. I also tried some "home" remedies, like juicing some lemon and adding baking soda to the sores... which I knew afterwards it wasn't the best idea (pain is a great teacher). All in all, I couldn't have had a more clumsy start with my new "friend". However little by little all went under control, specially when sticking to the medication program. Something that I experienced that helps a lot in the speed of the recovery is applying aloe vera to the sores. It REALLY helps, and they get dry and heal very quickly (two days for me) at least if they are in an external surface. When I say Aloe vera I mean the full vegetable. You buy it, then you cut it and you peel it - so you have on one side the "gelatine meat" (you can do a smoothie with it, adding some fruits, and drink it), and on the other side the skin. Then you take the interior area of the skin and you apply it to your sores a couple of times every day. Try it! It should help a lot. Best,

It is normal that we are confused when the virus strikes during the first months. Those are the worst outbreaks, because the body doesn't know what the hell is going on. However, they will be eased as the time goes by, both in frequency and intensity. If you take some steps (very typical and easy to follow, by the way) to enhance your health, your outbreaks will diminish to the point you barely have any friction with the virus, maybe once a year. However, those steps need to be made! They do make a difference: - daily medication in the right doses (listen to your doctor to know what he/she believes is the best in your case) - a healthy green diet (avoiding chocolate -that's the worst part I admit it-, peanuts, and anything rich in arginine, avoiding sugar and processed foods) - light sport very often - meditation / relax time very often - supplementation and super foods (you would want to get them even if you hadn't H!): coconut oil, essential oils (like tea tree, pepermint, and others), l-lysine, zinc, aloe vera, lemon juice, kefir, etc, etc, etc Following as a routine thse steps will empower you in many directions, and this helps keeping the virus at bay - a lot. For sure, stop smoking, drinking and any other bad habits! This is primary... As soon as your body starts knowing better the new "host", and when, additionally, you get your inmune system in order, you will start feeling powerful and 99% normal. No, sorry, I meant 100% normal... ;-) Stay safe and best regards,

Hi @Kp07, This is indeed a difficult challenge, specially the first year. If you have additional health concerns besides herpes, it is normal that you have all this anxiety, and you feel lost, confused, and targeted by life ("why me?" feelings). However, believe me, you will be able to control the virus and the whole situation very well in the next months. Regarding herpes, the first outbreak is the worst, and very rarely will strike with the same force in the future. There are tones of things you can do to manage the recurrence and severity of the future outbreaks, to the point they will practically disappear, specially after the first year, when your inmune system adapts to fight the virus. Your inmune system will learn to "catch" the virus when it gets out of hibernation. In addition to your body recognizing the virus and learning to fight it, several things can be done to strengthen your inmune system. Those things do make a difference, and the list goes something like this: - a healthy green diet (avoiding chocolate and peanut butter, and other arginine-rich foods, avoding sugar and processed foods) - light sport, often - meditation / relax time, often - natural health-enhancing supplements and super foods: garlic, onions, lemon juice, coconut oil, l-lysine, zinc, creatine monohydrate for sports, aloe vera, etc, etc, etc. - taking the prescription medication helps A LOT: acyclovir, etc. It is important to follow the correct dose when you feel an outbreak is coming - take it daily if you want to be really safe, as a suppressive therapy. You will control herpes to the point you almost forget about it. You will suppress it 99%. Personally, the only concern that have bugged me the most, is the fear of giving it to your partners. This concern will keep you more vigilant than usual when it comes to sex: condoms, softer sex, daily medication, and disclosure to your partners, so they can do an informed decision (the ones who care will be ok with it). The rates of transmission when you take all those steps are really really small. You will be fine and life will be 99,99% normal again. Once your inmune system is super-charged, herpes becomes like a recurrent annoying bad flu, at least I look at it that way, and it works for me. Stay healthy. All the best,

If you are an H+ male, and your infection site is at the base of the penis (like it is in my case btw), you will like to know that there are (or have been) condoms (or prototypes) that were designed to cover that area - an area that normal condoms won't cover, because they stop at the junction with the scrotum. The penis base is then susceptible to be infected, or to infect the girl. After some browsing I found out this company http://www.theyfit.com/, that apparently launched in the past a condom to cover the base: - http://scrotector.weebly.com/ This would be amazing, because having that area covered when you are the H+ male, would give you a huge peace of mind when having intimacy. However it seems like they do not sell it anymore, maybe because they didn't get the success they expected, or whatever reason. If you guys out there know of some similar product (thin, flexible latex), or think that we could contact them to talk about them and re-launch the product / order some stock, it could be interesting. Thanks,

Hi @benzgt excellent input, thanks. 74% of staying safe in a lifetime of sex is better than nothing... but it still leaves a wide room for something bad to happen. I don't know how to feel about it. I calculated male-to-female risk using condoms + medication, and it gives 0.467, or about 47% of staying safe after 30 solid years of sexual activity 2x per week. That is, 53% of possibilities you would pass it. Half of that, I assume, if you go 1x per week. It is somehow depressing. I'm looking into some condoms for men that cover the penis base, will post soon about it.

Here's a 1988 study about applying common antiseptics on the virus in a lab: Lysol, Listerine, alcohol... Alcohol kills the virus inmediately according to this study. However, this is in the lab, and we do not know the effects when applying the susbtance to your body/skin, because the alcohol could kill the first "layer" of virus, but replication can keep coming in waves during the next minutes so the "knock down" effect of alcohol / Listerine, etc, could last just a couple of minutes for example, and a sexual act can be longer than that (in some instances at least, lol). Also, this would be mostly for guys. And I'd like to remember we are talking about asymptomatic shedding - so the skin is "intact". And this kind of "creative" measures are not a substitute of what science have established that works so far: condoms and daily medication in the right doses. So I'd like to make clear that this is just an "experimental thought", a "complement" in the best of cases, and something we should absolutely talk about with a doctor before trying anything like this. Any thoughts? - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC266254/pdf/jcm00074-0065.pdf

I just found out several things: - something like Zovirax Topical exists, but it seems suited for an outbreak, and not for asymptomatical shedding. Can anyone confirm? - essential oils *could* have an antiviral effect when applied topically alongside a carrier oil. Non-scientifical introduction here: https://herbs.lovetoknow.com/Anti-Viral_Essential_Oils - Here is a German study about peppermint essential oil: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13678235 They say that after 3h of incubation "antiviral activity of about 99% could be demonstrated". - tea tree oil and eucaliptus oil also killed the virus in the lab (but they do not say how much time it took to kill it): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11338678 - lemon balm oil: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18693101 (no mention about timing) - something called "aqueous extracts" of several herbs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18693101 - aqueous root extract from Pelargonium (an african plant): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18691858 I will update with more findings.