Question:
I understand that everyone is different, but I'm seeing this common thread:

Here is what I went through after about 9-11 days from initial contact:

My symptoms:
*Unusually pusy zits on pubic mound. Boils came to mind.
*Second round of smaller pustuals (more like cauliflower than zits)
*Very swollen pubic lymph nodes (near leg crease, base of penis/clitoris height)
*Very sore lower back, like psyadic nerve pain
*Left lower back, butt cheek, and lymph node most painful, seems to be traveling down the left leg. May lead to an outbreak behind the left knee.
*Flu like symptoms (very sore throat, coughing up mucus, stuffy nose, but no fever)

I'm going back in 3 months for blood work, but until then I'm pretty confident I have HSV-2 and I've been reading this board for 4 days with new insight every day.

So, what I am understanding is that Oxygen/Ozone Therapy seems to be the best bet for killing viruses.

Here is what I'm currently doing based on all of the reading and in order of importance:

*Don't be ashamed, approximately 1 in 5 people have this, 20% or 45 million Americans. Your life is not over, but if you want to live with this your life is going to take a major change for the healthy.

*Don't put any creams on the outbreak like Neosporin or Polysporin. They need to breathe and dry out like athlete's foot.

*Valtrex, 500mg twice a day for 5 days and once a day after that.

*Vitamins
Time released B-Complex to reduce the stress (Brewer's Yeast is just a B Complex)
Multi-Vitamin/Mineral without L-Arginine
Red Marine Algae to boost immunity
Echinacea/Goldenseal to boost immunity (But not for more than 7 days in a row)
St. John's Wort for anti-viral properties and to boost mood, but may cause drowsiness
1000-3000mg of L-Lysine a day. I take a 500mg tablet every time I eat.
Garlic pills for anti-viral properties

*Watching what I eat - no chocolate, nuts, grapes, rasins, and other foods high in Arginine. And no citrus juices during an outbreak. (http://www.globalherbalsupplies.com/...nformation.htm)

*Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Cream (Neutrogena's Pore Refining Cleanser or other) I wash area, let it sit for ~60sec., rinse, then place a thin cream on once I'm out of shower but not after DMSO treatment below).

*Practice deep breathing whenever I remember. A yoga teacher once pointed out that we would all be better off if we just focused on our breathing.

*30 minutes of aerobic exercise 2 times a day (morning/night)

*Practice insane hygiene - use paper towel to dry pubic area, wash hands thoroughly whenever near pubic area. Don't share towel, wear underwear to bed, etc.

*Got the "Never an outbreak" therapy
Basically says to spray your genitals with Hydrogen Peroxide and then apply DMSO so that the H2O2 is taken into the nerves and virus. Careful as DMSO will take anything on the skin inside with it including soap, lotions, and toxins.

*H2O2 Food Grade 35% (4 drops in 8-16oz. of water, 2-3 times a day and bathe with 1/2 to 1 cup added to bath. Keep well ventilated to avoid Chlorine gas exposure)

*Just picked up "Cell Food" and "ChlorOxygen" - water oxygenating drops from health food store.

*All of these items were found at a health food store.

Other more costly options to help potentially erradicate the virus
*Do Ozone treatments
*Do Hyperbaric treatments (40 solid days of 1 hour treatments at 2.5 atmospheres)
*There are plenty of websites on both topics.
*Use Choraphor during an outbreak.

Other things I'm thinking about:
*I'm looking to get an oxygen bottle for when I exercise. I may wrap the tube around a black light to get some ozone into the mix. Will use the black light sparingly as Ozone is toxic to breathe.
*Would like to get off of Valtrex.

Other than the hastle, pain, and future dating embarassment I'd say that Herpes will be a good thing for me as it will always be there reminding me to watch what I drink, eat, excersize, breathe, and be healthy. My own personal health monitor.

Would you say this sums it up? Would this information have helped you during your first outbreak? What are some mistakes you made?

Thanks,
Fighter

Answer:
Almost forgot,

*Drink plenty of water
*Eat lots of fruits and vegetables

Fighter

Answer:
Hi Fighter...
wow, you've gotten down in just a few days what took me years to figure out :wink: this site is full of great info and tips, I'm glad to see that you're putting it to good use. All of this info would have GREATLY helped me during my first OB... except I was in such a state of shock/grief that I'm not sure how much of it would've seeped in right away. So I'd say congrats to you on not wasting any time and learning what you need to do to take care of yourself!
One more thing I'd like to add is to try massage therapy. (ok, yes, I'm a little biased as I am a massage therapist) but it helps the body to go into a deep relaxation, which of course counteracts stress, which decreases outbreaks. plus there's some massage that specifically works with the sympathetic nervous system, and can greatly help with cutting down on outbreaks. All in all, Massage is just a good thing :D I've always said that if every one in the world got a massage once a week, we'd have world peace. :wink: :D :wink:
so yes, living with Herpes can definately take your life in a more healthful direction. Lucky for me I was already a bit of a health nut :wink:

Answer:
CindyLouWho,

You are so right about massage, it also helps get blood flowing throughout the system and thus increases delivered oxygen to the cells. Personally, I believe we should all get a massage at least once a day and practice deep breathing excercizes, but that is my fantasy world where everyone is happy and pain free.

One other item I left out is plenty of rest, make sure you are getting your 6-9 hours of sleep a night. A little tough when you are suffering from ulcerated skin, swollen lymph nodes, coughing, body aches, and mental anguish, but absolutely necessary. The body must be relaxed in order to heal itself.

Well, it is almost one week of my therapy and today is very tough. I ache so bad from the middle of my back to the back of my knees and it is not excercise pain. I know I need to get oxygen and workout, but these Flu symptoms have stuffed me up pretty bad and it is painful to move. Everyone says the first outbreak is the worst - I really hope this is the case as I don't think I can go through this again.

Also, research shows that the immune system drops off drastically if you just stop excercise without a cool down period. I believe this is because the heart is still pumping, but the breathing has decrease and you are starving your system of needed oxygen. So, make sure you do a cool down period to bring your heart rate and breathing into alignment.

Best of luck everyone,
Fighter

Answer:
Hi Fighter,
sorry to hear you are having a rough day :(
I just wanted to let you know that it is true for most, the first OB is the worst. My first was incredibly painful, I was very sick. But the good news is I haven't had one that bad since. In fact, they just kept getting less and less severe and after about a year, less frequent too. Now if I do get an OB, it hardly ever gets to the point of having sores. Usually just the prodrome. so hang in there! it'll get better!

Answer:
Folks,

I do not recommend DMSO around the genitals or lymph-nodes during initial/severe outbreak. DMSO is attracted to water and attracts water. I had very swollen lymph-nodes during my outbreak and I'm pretty sure that the applied DMSO caused one to rupture. Quite painful, but no major damage other than perhaps a longer bought due to a weakened immune system. I also noticed that my lymph nodes were more swollen in the morning after DMSO applications.

I am now applying DMSO to spine from lower back to tail bone and spraying that with H2O2. As my lymph-nodes reduce I will again apply DMSO and H2O2 with caution.

After reading "Never an Outbreak" I'm now applying H2O2 very liberally to the genital area as often as I can, I'm now a bleached blonde. I have a small spray bottle that I fill and take to work and use whenever I go to the bathroom. I got the spray bottle from the travel/samples area at Wal-Mart. I'm also doing 2 Kwai garlic pills 3-4 times a day and 2-5 grams of Lysine a day. I bite the Lysine pills into swallowable chunks as the 1000mg pills are huge and the 500mg aren't much better.

It has been about 4 weeks since initial contact and things are definately feeling much, much better. I'm beginning to itch that crazy chicken pox/poison ivy itch which means healing, lymph nodes are no longer swollen and painful, the pain is only in the left buttock and no longer down my legs, I can finally breathe through my nose after two weeks of horrible stuffiness, and the leisons are finally healed enough to stop H2O2 bubbling, but I'm still applying. This is one nasty bug and I wish each of you the best.

Thank you everyone for your help and feedback in reading and compiling this summary.

Thanks,
Fighter

Answer:
When applying H2O2 with DMSO you should only use homemade H2O2 from 35% Food Grade H2O2 (available at health food stores). You make 3% H2O2 by dilluting 1 (one) oz. H2O2 in 11 (eleven) oz. of purified/distilled water (http://healingtools.tripod.com/H2O2.html). This is because store bought H2O2 contains toxic chemicals that keep the H2O2 stabilized. Therefore, these toxic chemicals are entering your system when used with DSMO.

Also, here is a great Ozone paper - http://www.garynull.com/Documents/ozone.htm

Best of luck,
Fighter

Answer:
If you want more to add to your mix, I have something that I have had amazing results with. The only thing is that you can't order it, you have to get it from a licensed naturepath. Find local homeopathic doctors in your area and you might be able to get some. Here's a website that describes it. http://www.deseretbiologicals.com/catalog.php?alp=H&

Answer:
Folks,

I do not recommend DMSO around the genitals or lymph-nodes during initial/severe outbreak. DMSO is attracted to water and attracts water. I had very swollen lymph-nodes during my outbreak and I'm pretty sure that the applied DMSO caused one to rupture. Quite painful, but no major damage other than perhaps a longer bought due to a weakened immune system. I also noticed that my lymph nodes were more swollen in the morning after DMSO applications.

I am now applying DMSO to spine from lower back to tail bone and spraying that with H2O2. As my lymph-nodes reduce I will again apply DMSO and H2O2 with caution.

After reading "Never an Outbreak" I'm now applying H2O2 very liberally to the genital area as often as I can, I'm now a bleached blonde. I have a small spray bottle that I fill and take to work and use whenever I go to the bathroom. I got the spray bottle from the travel/samples area at Wal-Mart. I'm also doing 2 Kwai garlic pills 3-4 times a day and 2-5 grams of Lysine a day. I bite the Lysine pills into swallowable chunks as the 1000mg pills are huge and the 500mg aren't much better.

It has been about 4 weeks since initial contact and things are definately feeling much, much better. I'm beginning to itch that crazy chicken pox/poison ivy itch which means healing, lymph nodes are no longer swollen and painful, the pain is only in the left buttock and no longer down my legs, I can finally breathe through my nose after two weeks of horrible stuffiness, and the leisons are finally healed enough to stop H2O2 bubbling, but I'm still applying. This is one nasty bug and I wish each of you the best.

Thank you everyone for your help and feedback in reading and compiling this summary.

Thanks,
Fighter Hi Fighter, I do not recommend DMSO also, made only worse with me all symptoms of HSV1 I have tried liquid oxygen with DMSO and never had so mutch obs as before this horrible (2 month) therapy. I had OBS almost every third day with it. Its better leave your fingers of it. I was never sure wheter the dmso or stabilized liquid oxygen caused the obs. Personally I think both substances are suspect and not suitably for tratment of HSV.

but maybe it helps for somebody else...who knows.