HERPESVIRUS INFECTION. OPTIMIZATION OF LOCAL TREATMENT

About the author:	Kutasevych Ya.F., Oliinyk I.O., Mashtakova I.O .	
Heading	CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS	
Type of article	Scientific Article	
Annotation	Considering the numerous clinical manifestations of herpes infection, the long 
recurrent course of the disease and the lifelong persistence of the virus in the body, 
its treatment is difficult and not always effective. Now none of the known antiviral 
drugs is able to eliminate the virus from the human body.
The goal – to increase the effectiveness of therapy for patients with herpes virus
 infection by using an antiviral cream containing menthol.
Materials and methods. 33 people suffering from herpes virus infection were under 
observation. Of these, 19 people had herpes zoster, 14 had HSV, 8 had herpes
labialis, and 6 had herpes nasofacialis. The age of the patients ranged from 21 to 69 
years. There were 20 women, 13 men. The patients were divided into clinical and 
therapeutic groups representative of age, gender, and nosological forms. The 1st
 experimental group included 19 patients, of which 1–9 had herpes simplex virus and 
10 – herpes variocele zoster. The 2nd comparison group included 14 people, 5–5 had
 HSV-1 and 9 had herpes variocele zoster. Patients with herpes zoster received 
systemic antiviral drugs in complex therapy. Patients with HSV-1 in group I used 
lipster mint cream topically, patients in group II – cream with acyclovir. Creams were 
applied 5 times a day in a thin layer to the affected areas.
Results. Subjective signs of itching, pain, and burning regressed after the first 
application of an antiviral cream containing menthol in patients of the 1st group. In the 
prodromal period 7 patients with HSV group I had an abortive form of herpes infection. In patients
of the II group the decrease in subjective sensations was noted on the 2nd-3rd day of 
treatment. In patients with herpes zoster in both the I and II groups the dynamics of 
disease regression was equivalent. In patients of the 1st group the subjective feeling 
significantly decreased after applying the drug, which lasted for 30–40 minutes, and 
significantly stopped on the 3rd-4th day of treatment.
Conclusions. Thus, the use of an antiviral cream containing menthol increases the 
effectiveness of the therapy of herpes virus infection caused by HSV and herpes 
zoster, due to the reduction of subjective manifestations: reduction of pain, itching,
 burning already at the first applications, which improves the quality of life. The use of
 this agent in the prodromal period prevents the appearance of extensive clinical 
manifestations of the disease, contributing to the development of abortive forms of
 herpes virus infection. The cream ensures rapid positive dynamics of the elements 
and prevents the development of secondary infection.	
Tags	herpesvirus infection, local treatment, acyclovir, herpes simplex virus, herpes zoster	
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Publication of the article	«DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY» №4(102), 2023 year, 17-20 pages,
	
DOI	10.33743/2308-1066-2023-4-17-20