When you’ve come across a drug medication that can treat numerous types of conditions, say four or five, you tend to classify such a medication as something special because of its uniqueness. Bit when you come across another such as Valacyclovir that can also treat a number of conditions (4), you become more interested and more confident in the availability of treatments for different types of conditions. Let’s see what valacyclovir is and what it can actually do.

The way Valacyclovir does its work

Valacyclovir is member to a class of antiviral drugs that all work in a similar manner and are therefore used for the treatment of conditions which are the same conditions.

The herpes virus is the principle villain in this article, an virus that circulates and spreads itself inside your body by creating cells that replicate itself.

That the valacyclovir drug medication does here is it makes it more difficult for the herpes virus to propagate and multiply by making more cells in your body.

• What is perhaps perplexing about this drug medication is that it doesn’t actually cure the herpes infection which is evidenced by the fact that the virus can remain dormant but alive in your body even after being bombarded with the valacyclovir drug treatment.

Hence it means that the virus can recur at some future date even though traces of the symptoms of the first infection have dissipated. Despite the recurring ability of the virus, valacyclovir is always at hand to meet the challenge head on when it recurs later on.

Valacyclovir and its side effects

Drowsiness is not one of the side effects caused by drug medication valacyclovir but it does cause other known side effects.

The more common side effects

Some of the more common side effects of drug treatment valacyclovir can include the following:

• Pain in the abdominal area (stomach)
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Normally, these side effects are mild in nature and will most probably dissipate within a few days or sometimes a couple of weeks. 

However, if they persist and refuse to disappear but become worse, you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your problem.

The serious side effects

If it so happens that you experience serious side effects, you should promptly call your area’s emergency phone number, especially if the symptoms tend to be life-threatening.

You should also make the call if you definitely feel that you have a medical emergency on your hands, especially when you experience symptoms that can include:

• Kidney failure with symptoms that can include:
  • Swelling in your legs, ankles, or feet
  • Urinating much less than you normally do
  • Severe drowsiness
• Abnormal mood or behavior with symptoms that may include:
  • Coma
  • Aggressive behavior
  • Unsteady movements
  • Seizures
  • Hallucinations
  • Confusion

How to help reduce spreading the herpes virus

By using this drug medication on a daily basis, you can help prevent the spread of the herpes virus to your sexual partner.

In particular you should abstain from any sexual activity with your sexual partner if you are experiencing symptoms that indicate an outbreak of genital herpes is imminent or already in progress.

You can still spread the genital herpes virus to your sexual partner even if you employ safe sex methods while engaged in sexual activity.

You should consult with your doctor about how to have safer sex while you’re under the influence of shingles.

Valacyclovir interactions with other medications

An interaction occurs when a substance changes the normal way a drug works following an interactive exchange.

The danger here is that the drug interaction can become harmful or it can prevent valacyclovir from working well.

In order to stop the effects of interactions, your medications should be carefully managed by your doctor. You should therefore inform your doctor about all the medications, vitamins or herbal remedies you are taking.

In order to know for sure how your valacyclovir oral tablet may interact with another substance you’re also taking, you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist to find out more about the problem.

Warnings about using Valacyclovir

Several warnings are associated with using this drug medication:

Warning about allergy

Valacyclovir has the propensity to cause severe allergic reactions which are shown by symptoms that can include:

• Breathing difficulties
• Swelling of tongue or throat

When these symptoms develop in your body, you should immediately call your area emergency phone number or make your way to the nearest emergency counter at the nearest hospital.

If you’ve ever experienced an allergic reaction to this drug medication, you must not take it again. Taking it again can be fatal (cause death).

Warnings for people who have certain health conditions

Kidney disorders:  this drug medication is cleared from your body by the filtering action of your kidneys. If you suffer from kidney disease, you may have problems in clearing the drug from your body.

When this happens the drug may accumulate in your body increasing the level of the drug in your system and the risk of more side effects which you are likely to encounter.

This drug medication may also worsen the function of your kidneys and in order to counteract this problem, your doctor can prescribe a lower dose for you to take.

Advanced HIV or a history of transplants: If you suffer from advanced HIV or from a history of bone marrow or kidney transplant, you may have a higher risk of having certain blood disorders.

These conditions are referred to as thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

This can cause a severely low amount of platelets and red blood cells in your body and you should note that both TTP and HUS can cause death.

Bottom line

There are so many different features and unique characteristics of drug medications such as the effectiveness of drug medications, it would be unwise not to know about some of the other unique traits and that’s what this article has tried to do. It began by discussing how this drug medication works and ended with warnings to past, present and potential users with so much more in between. We hope you’ve grasped the pertinent aspects of this drug medication.