Herpes Outbreaks: Natural Remedies & Treatments
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It’s not uncommon for people to be embarrassed about their herpes, whether it’s oral herpes or genital herpes. I’ve even known of patients who have kept their herpes a secret from their spouse for many years!
I’m here to remove the stigma around herpes, especially since it’s a lot more common than many people realize. But I want to focus on stress specifically, and how it plays a very significant role in herpes outbreaks. In fact, the presence or effective management of stress can make a huge difference in the severity and duration of a herpes outbreak.
Herpes Outbreaks and Stress
Stress is known for triggering an inflammatory response in the body. Studies have shown that stress causes the immune system to release cytokines (a broad term for proteins that signal the immune system to perform certain functions). Cytokines can be very useful when they are protecting us from infections. But when those cytokines are released for no real biological reason (like with stress, for example), other problems can occur. And a herpes outbreak is one of those problems.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV), as we know, lives with us for the rest of our lives—it is impossible to eradicate. So the goal instead of eliminating it, is to keep it dormant as much as possible by preventing outbreaks. But during times of stress, cytokines are released, activating the existing herpes simplex virus (HSV).
Stress also affects herpes in another way, albeit indirectly. Stress can cause us to have poor sleep. And when we are stressed, we are also prone to make poor eating choices that often include excess sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. These things can also signal an outbreak.
Managing Stress to Prevent Outbreaks
It is easier to put on a pair of shoes than to wrap the earth in leather. –Buddhist Proverb
Stress is seemingly unavoidable in daily life. From getting that email from your boss to hitting a car to getting divorced, stress is everywhere. But sometimes, stress is more about your perception than the actual so-called stressful event. Yes, some things are inherently stressful, but many are only as stressful as how you choose to react to the stressors. Here are just a few things you can implement to mitigate stress in your life.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness is effective not only for stress that arises in the moment, but also as a preventative measure for life’s future stresses. We can prepare our minds by practicing how we will react to potential stressors. Because it’s not a matter of “if” but rather “when” they will arise. To work on mindfulness, start practicing “mono tasking.” Mono tasking is exactly what it sounds like—deliberately focusing on one task at a time and resisting the urge to multitask. The more we can focus our mind on one task at a time, the better equipped we will be to handle those future stressors. As women, we are sometimes known for priding ourselves on our ability to multitask. But I am here to tell you that mono tasking is where it’s at!
Schedule Your Stress: I know it sounds a little strange, but there’s a lot of value in having what I like to call “structured worry time.” This is a time set aside specifically for you to get out all of your concerns. You can even take it to paper and jot down all of the things that are stressing you out. This is helpful for a couple reasons. 1) You can get those things out of your mind. 2) When you have a designated time devoted to your worries, then when future worries crop up, you will be able to tell yourself to compartmentalize those for only the specific structured worry time. And this frees you up to enjoy life’s moments more because your worries are not crowding out life’s enjoyments.
Breath Practice: As a higher level of stress management, breath practice can be a very effective way to help you control your worries and stress levels. My favorite breath practice is what I call either a “triangle breath” or a “pyramid breath.” This practice helps elongate the exhalation to bring you into the parasympathetic mode or the “rest and digest” response (this is the exact opposite of the sympathetic mode, which activates the “fight or flight” response).
Meditation: Similar to breath practice, meditation is very effective at accessing the parasympathetic response in the body.
There are so many effective things you can do to relieve stress. Other options include:
Yoga
Exercise in general
Acupuncture
Massage
Bodywork
Reiki
Craniosacral Therapy
Alexander Technique (postural therapy)
Talk Therapy/Counseling
Art/Music Therapy
The bottom line is that there is a wide variety of ways that you can reduce stress, which can ultimately help reduce your herpes outbreaks.
Supplements and Herbs for Herpes Outbreaks
When looking at supplements for herpes, I like to take 2 different approaches. First, I look at prevention. We are not preventing the herpes itself, but rather herpes outbreaks. The other aspect where supplements can help is when you actually do have an outbreak. For both scenarios, these supplements will be effective, but you may want to do a higher dosage for an outbreak.
Zinc: Supports immunity and reduces viral replication
Vitamin C: Supports immunity and reduces viral replication
Multivitamin: A high quality one can be very effective
Lysine: L-lysine is an amino acid that counteracts l-arginine (another amino acid that is essential for the replication of the herpes virus)
Other helpful herbs include:
Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis)
My goals in prescribing these supplements and herbs is preventing an outbreak and then boosting immune function, especially if you are in the middle of an outbreak. Effective supplementation can even shorten the duration of an outbreak.
Click here to access my complete herpes support protocol and save 10% on all these products through my Fullscript online dispensary.
To purchase physician-grade supplements, click here to create an account or login to access my online supplements shop and purchase them directly.
How a Naturopath Can Help
At the heart of naturopathic medicine is the pursuit of the root cause—I believe in addressing the root cause of a problem. For your herpes outbreaks, the root cause may be stress. It also could be hormones, trauma, diet, etc. Whatever it is that is causing you to experience outbreaks, I want to help.
Contact me to schedule an appointment.
Book an Appointment
At Simplicity Health Associates in New York City, we help many patients who struggle with herpes outbreaks, whether that be genital herpes or oral herpes.
Click here to book an appointment online or call (646) 470-8458. You can also email us here.
FAQs
What causes frequent herpes outbreaks?
Herpes outbreaks happen for a number of reasons. Illness, stress, excess sunlight, fatigue or poor diet can all lead to a herpes outbreak. A healthy diet combined with sleep, exercise and stress management are the best ways to prevent herpes outbreaks.
How long does a herpes outbreak last for?
Initial herpes outbreaks last between 2-4 weeks whereas subsequent outbreaks usually heal within a few days and are less severe.
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