Treatment used* |
Prescription antiviral | 990 | 65 |
Prescription topical medicine | 274 | 18 |
Over the counter topical cream | 194 | 13 |
Pain medication | 12 | <1 |
Alternative/herbal treatment | 263 | 17 |
Saline baths | 154 | 10 |
Ice or cold water | 74 | 5 |
Lifestyle change | 16 | <1 |
Other | 35 | 2 |
Pattern of antiviral therapy† |
Suppressive therapy | 274 | 30 |
Episodic therapy | 604 | 67 |
Reasons for not taking suppressive therapy‡ |
Infrequent outbreaks or just diagnosed | 318 | 33 |
Cost | 297 | 31 |
Didn’t know could take every day | 203 | 21 |
Fear of side effects | 173 | 18 |
Don’t want to be reminded about the disease | 135 | 14 |
Decreased efficacy | 108 | 11 |
Inconvenient | 97 | 10 |
Disease not a concern | 78 | 8 |
Doctor didn’t recommend | 59 | 6 |
Wouldn’t make a difference | 53 | 6 |
Treatment period would be too long | 35 | 4 |
Doesn’t work | 9 | <1 |