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What is Acyclovir?

Category: Prescription Drugs

Most popular types: Zovirax

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Acyclovir is a type of medicine called an antiviral. Antivirals kill viruses or stop viruses from multiplying. Acyclovir is used to treat herpesvirus infections spread by direct skin-to-skin contact. Acyclovir will not cure herpes infections.

See patients taking Acyclovir

Reported purpose & perceived effectiveness
Purpose Patients Evaluations Perceived Effectiveness
Shingles (herpes zoster) 140 90
Genital herpes 125 23
Cold sores (fever blisters) 65 33
Postherpetic neuralgia 48 2
Herpes simplex virus infection 44 3
Cold sore (herpes simplex) 37 12

Show all 46 reasons taken

  • Major
  • Moderate
  • Slight
  • None
  • Can't tell
See all 1382 patients that have taken Acyclovir

Side effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Side effects as an overall problem
Severity Evaluations Percentage
Severe 8
Moderate 13
Mild 26
None 174

Commonly reported side effects and conditions associated with Acyclovir

Side effect Patients Percentage
Diarrhea 5
Headaches 5
Nausea 4
Fatigue 3
Drowsiness 2
Acute renal failure 1

Show all 28 reported side effects

Why patients stopped taking Acyclovir

Multiple reasons could be selected

Reason Patients Percentage
Course of treatment ended 68
Doctor's advice 16
Other 15
Did not seem to work 12
Side effects too severe 11
Personal research 4
Expense 2
Change in health plan coverage 1
See all 107 patients who've stopped taking Acyclovir

Duration

Stopped taking Acyclovir

Duration Patients Percentage
Less than 1 month 48
1 - 6 months 23
6 months - 1 year 10
1 - 2 years 9
2 - 5 years 3
5 - 10 years 7
10 years or more 4
Adherence
Adherence Evaluations Percentage
Always 182
Usually 28
Sometimes 9
Never taken as prescribed 2
Burden
Burden Evaluations Percentage
Very hard to take 6
Somewhat hard to take 15
A little hard to take 34
Not at all hard to take 166
Cost per month
Cost per month Evaluations Percentage
$200+ 0
$100-199 2
$50-99 3
$25-49 14
< $25 97
Not specified 105

What people switch to and from

Patients started taking Acyclovir after stopping:

Treatment Patients Percentage
Valacyclovir (Valtrex) 4
Acyclovir Topical (Zovirax Topical) 2
Famciclovir (Famvir) 1

Patients stopped taking Acyclovir and switched to:

Treatment Patients Percentage
Valacyclovir (Valtrex) 12
Famciclovir (Famvir) 3
Gabapentin (Neurontin) 1
Pregabalin (Lyrica) 1
Last updated:

15 patient evaluations for Acyclovir

Sort by: Most recent

Apr 15, 2017 (Started Mar 15, 2017)

  • Effectiveness
    None (for chronic Epstein-Barr)
  • Effectiveness
    None (for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)
  • Side effects
    Mild (stomach discomfort)
  • Adherence
    Usually
  • Burden
    Somewhat hard to take
Dosage: 400 mg Twice daily
Advice & Tips: Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Phasellus faucibus turpis sed mi maximus mattis.
Cost: < $25 monthly

Mar 30, 2017 (Started Mar 15, 2017)

  • Effectiveness
    Can't tell (for chronic Epstein-Barr)
  • Effectiveness
    Can't tell (for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)
  • Side effects
    Mild (stomach discomfort)
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    A little hard to take
Dosage: 400 mg Twice daily
Cost: < $25 monthly
  • 0 helpful marks

Feb 15, 2016 (Started Feb 05, 2016)

  • Effectiveness
    Slight (for shingles (herpes zoster))
  • Side effects
    None
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
Dosage: 800 mg Five times daily
  • 0 helpful marks

Oct 1, 2015 (Started Mar 09, 2015)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for cold sores (fever blisters))
  • Side effects
    None
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Somewhat hard to take
Dosage: As needed
Advice & Tips: Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Phasellus faucibus turpis sed mi maximus mattis.
  • 0 helpful marks
Last updated:
Showing 3 of 15 patient evaluations for Acyclovir