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Share your experience: submit a drug review
Below are Zovirax (Acyclovir) reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 12 ratings/reviews, Zovirax has an overall score of 8.75. The effectiveness score is 9.17 and the side effect score is 9.17. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence. | | Zovirax review by 37 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | |   |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | fever blisters |
| Dosage & duration: | | 1600 mg taken twice daily for the period of 1 day |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | If I took the Zovirax at the first sign of tingling it would prevent an outbreak. If I waited I would still get blisters but they would only last 2-3 days. |
| Side effects: | | no side effects |
| Comments: | | I take 2 pills first thing and then another 2 before bed. |
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| | Zovirax review by 58 year old male patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | herpes |
| Dosage & duration: | | 3 capsules daily taken every day for the period of 3 years |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | outbreaks were reduced from one every few months to one every few years |
| Side effects: | | none that I am aware of |
| Comments: | | just swallow one capsule three times per day |
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| | Zovirax review by 29 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Cold Sores |
| Dosage & duration: | | 200 mg taken 4 times a day for the period of multiple times over the last 5 years |
| Other conditions: | | None |
| Other drugs taken: | | None | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Shortened time span of cold sore.
Sometimes alleviating symptoms entirely. |
| Side effects: | | None |
| Comments: | | If you take one pill as soon as you feel the tingle of a cold sore coming on, often it will not even appear at all. I know you might think, "Maybe there wasn't really one in the first place." But if you get cold sores regularly, you know. Sometimes if I couldn't get to the pills right away and a cold sore did appear, I would take a total of 4-5 pills in the course of the next 24 hours, and the sores would often be gone within 2 days instead of the usual 10. If you can't get to the pills within the first 24 hours, there is really not much good they can do after that, from my experience. This drug is kind of expensive--if I recall from before I had insurance, it was $50-75 for a bottle of Zovirax, but now they have a generic form so it is probably less. Regardless, this drug is worth its weight in gold. |
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| | Zovirax review by 58 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | cold sore, fever blister |
| Dosage & duration: | | 5% ointment (dosage frequency: daily) for the period of 10 days |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | This ointment seemed to lessen the severity of the outbreak and duration. |
| Side effects: | | None noted |
| Comments: | | I applied the ointment several times a day. The sooner the application after the first symptom (usually tingling) the more effective. As I stated still had the outbreak but the ointment did lessen the severity and duration. |
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| | Zovirax review by 38 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | severe cold sores |
| Dosage & duration: | | 200mg taken 5 times per day for the period of 5 days |
| Other conditions: | | None |
| Other drugs taken: | | None | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Severe symptoms of cold sores around the mouth were reduced and cleared up within 5 days. |
| Side effects: | | There didn't seem to be any noticeable side effects. |
| Comments: | | Having suffered from recurrent severe cold sores in the past, I began taking 200mg five times a day once the onset of another attack became obvious. Instead of ending up with large and unsightly blisters and scabs, these were considerably reduced in size and the time it took to heal completely was also reduced. |
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| | Zovirax review by 30 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Allergies |
| Dosage & duration: | | 1 g (dosage frequency: 2-3 times a day) for the period of 2 days |
| Other conditions: | | None |
| Other drugs taken: | | None | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Zovirax is a highly effective treatment of cold sores. I take it in significantly higher dosages than the package indicates and 70% of the time, the cold sore diseappear within a day. |
| Side effects: | | I have never experienced any side effects |
| Comments: | | I basically take at least 5 200 mg tablets. I have not found the ointment to be effective at all, only the tablets. |
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| | Zovirax review by 46 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Cold sores/ herpes I |
| Dosage & duration: | | 1600 Mg per day taken 4 times per day (400mg tablets) for the period of over one yar |
| Other conditions: | | kidney scarring, chronic anemia |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | For awhile it did prevent cold sores. Then I started having frequent chest pains as well as fainting spells. Now I'm finding out from an ER Physician and the Pharmacist I 1. should never have been prescribed this dosage (twice what should be prescribed in per day) and NO-ONE should take Acyclovir for this length of time either. I've been told this is the reason for my fainting spells, chest pain, low blood pressure problems, increased kidney (renal) damage, yeast infections and most recently a series of fungal infections. |
| Side effects: | | fainting spells, chest pain, low blood pressure, further kidney damage, infections followed up with fungal infections. I now am taking 1000 mg of L-Lysiene (natural food store or grocery store) per day. It's extrememly low cost and it's very effective. |
| Comments: | | I hope this information will help someone not go through what I've gone through. I don't have chest pain since I've quit using it after one week. I was never even given one liver functioning test on this at all and that is reccommended by the way. Good Luck and take care. |
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| | Zovirax review by 57 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Herpes zoster |
| Dosage & duration: | | 400 every 8 hours=1200 in 24 hours (dosage frequency: 3 days, once a year now) for the period of 5 years, with good results |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | I have had Herpes Zoster or VZV all my life. Acyclovir completely eliminates the headache and flu like symptoms. If I take it early enough it stops all outbreaks in one or two days. If taken late; I need a higher dose and it can eliminate blisters in 2 or three days. My outbreaks were once or twice a year and I only used acyclovir cream. Now it appears less than once a year and can be stopped with Zovirax(Acyclovir). |
| Side effects: | | I get sleepy and buzzy headed. No other side effects from the medicine. |
| Comments: | | I take three 400mg tablets in 24 hours for the first two days. This equals 1200mg in 24 hours. Then 800mg for two days. I can take it with just coffee in the morning. I drink extra water. I also use zovirax cream.
I don't have any medical insurance and I buy all my medicine at In House pharmacy online. |
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| | Zovirax review by 26 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Genital herpes |
| Dosage & duration: | | 1000 ml (dosage frequency: every month 5 pills) for the period of a year |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | heal herpeses and prevent from breacing in the feature |
| Side effects: | | none |
| Comments: | | Use every day if you have brake out and take at lease 1 pille a week to prevent from future break out.you can combine with zovirax cream and apply to the break out to heal out and take a pill to treat in.Zovirax is a great medication over the counter ....it is very efectivly and i hightly recomended. |
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| | Zovirax review by 25 year old male patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | herpes |
| Dosage & duration: | | 800mg taken 3 times a day for the period of 3 years |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | WORKED EXTREMELY WELL AT PREVENTING OUT BREAKS. an out break would come on and id start taking it and it would be gone withing 48 hours if i took it properly. |
| Side effects: | | massive amount of hair loss. I basically went from a full head of hair to half bald in a span of 3 years.Also arthritis type pain between joints if you take too much for too long. Sometimes i had to lay off of it for a few weeks to regain my strength. This stuff has some serious side effects. Men feel the side effects much worse then woman do. |
| Comments: | | make sure your doctor prescribes you 800 mg because its wayy cheaper because you can cut them in half if you want because they are tablets. Its like the same price as the 200 mg for the same count so its really stupid to get the lower dose when you can just cut up the higher dose. |
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| | Zovirax review by 36 year old male patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | cold sores |
| Dosage & duration: | | 400mg 3x day for 5 taken at first sign of cold sore. for the period of 6 years when needed |
| Other conditions: | | None. |
| Other drugs taken: | | None. | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Doctor prescribed Acyclovir for cold sores and said it would reduce duration of cold sores. In fact, it has completely eliminated flare ups for over 5 years. Before I started taking it, I would get a cold sore once or twice a year. It is very important to have a dose available at all times, because it is crucial to start taking it at the first sign of tingling. The effectiveness of this drug has far exceeded my expectations. |
| Side effects: | | None. |
| Comments: | | At the first sign of a cold sore flare up, such as tingling, puffiness, or pain at the location were the cold sore normally flares up, you begin the treatment. My doctor prescribed 400mg 3 times a day for 5 days.
It is very important to begin treatment immediately. Hours can make a difference, once the blister has formed, its probably too late and you will have to go through the scabbing and healing process. However, I have found that if treatment is started immediately at first sign of tingling, the blister is prevented altogether. At least, that is my personal experience. |
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| | Zovirax review by 58 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | Skin Warts on elbow |
| Dosage & duration: | | thin smear (dosage frequency: daily) for the period of 14 days |
| Other conditions: | | None |
| Other drugs taken: | | Atenolol, Zocor | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | I have been plagued with peristent mutiple warts on my elbow for over 10 years. At Christmas - I decided to 'attack' the area again to clear it for the Summer. I used the freezing technique, but warts were clearly trying to spread outside the treated area onto fresh skin areas.. I then added the salicylic acid to the new growths but this just made my arm/skin sore. I could see the only solution was to control the virus itself to prevent any new spread as the thickened areas died off with the cryotherapy.
I used a thin smear of Acyclovir around the treated areas and all the new wart 'blistering' stoped iritating within an hour or so and died back. If I left the cream off - they would start again. I persisted with the cream daily for 2 weeks and for the first time in 10 years or more my arm is 'wart free' and I have healthy unbroken wart free skin. |
| Side effects: | | None - In fact it gave great relief to sore irritated skin as new 'wart' blister tried to form.
I suggest a clinical trial to be used in conjunction with cryotherapy to prevent spread and regrowth - once warts are treated. It is certainly more successful in eliminating 'emerging warts' and preventing regrowth than the recommended salicylic acid - which does more harm then good.
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| Comments: | | This may be a marketing oportunity for you as re-growth is often more of a problem than treating the original wart.
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