ACYCLOVIR CREAM PREVENTS CLINICAL AND THERMOGRAPHIC PROGRESSION OF RECRUDESCENT HERPES LABIALIS BEYOND THE PRODROMAL STAGE

Early treatment of recrudescent herpes labialis the symptomatic area h as been claimed to inhibit the clinical signs of recrudescent herpes l abialis. Electronic infrared thermography can both recognise the prodr omal phase and identify the area requiring drug therapy. Our objective was to use infrared thermography to identify prodromal herpes and fol low the response to topical acyclovir cream therapy over the thermogra phic all active area. Seventy instances of prodromal cold sores were c onfirmed thermographically. Zovirax cold sore cream (acyclovir) was ap plied 5 times pet day far 5 days to the thermographically positive are a. All returned after 72 h for a further thermographic and clinical ex amination of the initially active area. All 70 patients illustrated a localised increase in temperature over the symptomatic area during the prodromal stage. The development of a clinical herpes lesion was prev ented in 46% of the patients. Tn the lesions that did develop, an 80% reduction in clinical lesion size was observed in 82% of the subjects. The remaining 18% showed a reduction in healing time.