Valtrex (valacyclovir) is an antiviral drug that helps the body fight off the infection; it is prescribed to patients with cold sores, chickenpox, and genital herpes. It works by slowing down the spread of the herpes virus. Although Valtrex does not cure herpes it treats the symptoms and prevents the outbreaks.

Clinical trials have demonstrated Valtrex to be one of the most effective treatment options for the treatment of the herpes virus:

*By the end of 12 months, one-third of the patients taking Valtrex still not had a single genital herpes outbreak compared to only 4% of those taking placebo (sugar pill).
*Over half of the patients (55%) who experienced a high frequency of genital herpes outbreaks (six or more per year) did not have a single outbreak for 6 months while taking 1000 mg of Valtrex per day.
*Patients with 9 or fewer genital herpes outbreaks showed comparable results with a 500 mg Valtrex caplet once a day.

For people who took the drug to treat their first genital herpes infection, the lesions healed in nine days, on average, and people had pain for five days, on average. For outbreaks in people who had previously been infected, it took an average of four days for the lesions to heal (compared to six days for people who were not taking the drug).