About 90% of people on our planet know what cold sores are on their lips. This is a common skin disease caused by a virus. Manifestations of herpes are extremely unpleasant. These include discomfort in the lips, the appearance of bubbles. If you have symptoms of the disease, you want to get rid of them as soon as possible. For this purpose, you can use the cream "Pentcivir" - a drug specially designed to eliminate the symptoms of herpes and reduce treatment time.
Preparations from the Pencivir line
The tool is available in two versions:
- in the form of a simple cream for external use;
- in the form of a cream with a tinting effect.
These varieties are almost identical. The difference is only in two auxiliary components - this is iron oxide red oxide and iron oxide yellow. These substances are only in cream with a tinting effect. Due to their presence, this agent has a masking property.
The basis of creams (ointments) for herpes "Pencivir" is penciclovir - the active substance. Its amount in 1 g of cream is 10 mg.
How is Pencivir used?
The cream is suitable for adults and children from 12 years. It is used externally in the lips, nasolabial triangle. For application, you can use a disposable applicator or cotton swab. You can also simply squeeze the product onto the tip of your finger and gently apply to the affected area, but in this case, you must wash your hands thoroughly before and after using the product.
In reviews of "Pencivir" from herpes, people say that they use the drug every 2 hours (about 8 times a day). It is right. This is the recommendation the manufacturer gives. The duration of treatment is 4 days. During the period of use, there is a possibility of side effects. They appear in the form of tingling, burning, numbness in the field of application of the drug.
The drug has several contraindications:
- age up to 12 years;
- hypersensitivity to famciclovir, penciclovir, auxiliary components from the "Pentcivir".
Caution in the use of the drug should be observed for pregnant women and nursing mothers. It is impossible to prescribe Pencivir yourself during pregnancy and breastfeeding. A doctor's consultation is required.
How does the disease
The course of herpes on the lips consists of several stages:
- At the first stage, burning, itching are felt in a certain place on the lips. Swelling and redness occur.
- In the second stage, vesicles with a secret are formed.
- In the third stage, the bubbles burst, and a cloudy liquid flows out of them. There are sores.
- At the final stage of the disease, crusts form in the affected areas. They fall away when the skin under them is restored.
The disease usually lasts about 10 days. If you follow the instructions for the use of "Pencivir", then the duration of this period can be reduced. The active component will contribute to this. Penciclovir penetrates into the affected cells, is converted to penciclovir triphosphate. This substance has pharmacological activity. It is it that blocks pathogens, stops their reproduction, and helps to reduce pain. Penciclovir triphosphate persists in affected cells for 12 hours. Thanks to the substance, the affected areas heal more quickly, the period of peeling of the crusts becomes shorter.
About the masking effect
Cream with a tinting effect masks due to its color. The color of the product is beige, sometimes brownish.
In the reviews of "Pencivir" from herpes, you can find people's opinions that ordinary cosmetics are also suitable for masking flaws. In reality, this is not so. Simple cosmetics should not be used, because there is a risk of infection in bursting bubbles. With a complicated course of herpes, it is more difficult to recover. It is "Pencivir" with a tinting effect that is recommended to be used if you want to hide all the flaws that arose on the lips due to herpes.
Specialist Warnings
The instructions for use by specialists have given several warnings:
- Do not apply cream on the mucous membrane of the mouth, nose, in the eyes, genitals.
- During treatment, the condition of the affected area should be monitored. If there is no improvement or worsening, a doctor’s consultation is required.
- Be sure to consult with specialists is for those people whose immune system is weakened, and who are unsure that they have herpes.
Reviews
To date, quite a lot of positive reviews about the "Pentcivir" from herpes have been left. Those people who used this tool distinguish several advantages from it:
- the cream really helps, relieves pain;
- economically spent;
- does not melt on the lips and therefore does not flow into the mouth.
It is best to start smearing on the very first day of the occurrence of unpleasant symptoms. At the first stages, it is easier to fight the virus, because it has not yet multiplied.
The disadvantages include the price. "Pencivir" costs about 300 rubles. This cost is set for a tube of 2 g. For those who do not want to spend such an amount, there are cheaper analogues - for example, Acyclovir, Zovirax.
"Acyclovir": features of the analogue
Ointment "Acyclovir" 5% is a cheaper analogue. Its price, compared with the price of "Pencivira", is 6–7 times lower - about 40–50 rubles. per tube of 10 g.
Acyclovir acts in much the same way as Pencivir. The active substance (acyclovir), when it enters the affected cells, is converted to acyclovir monophosphate, and then is converted to diphosphate and triphosphate. Virus reproduction is blocked due to acyclovir triphosphate. It is "embedded" in the DNA synthesized by the pathogen.
"Acyclovir" is applied less often than "Pencivir," 5 or 6 times a day at regular intervals. The recommended duration of treatment is at least 5 days. Maximum ointment can be applied for 10 days.
Side effects during use are possible. Most often this is a short tingling sensation, burning in the area of application, itching. In rare cases, specialists record erythema, contact dermatitis, anaphylactic reactions.
"Zovirax" - another analogue of "Pentcivira"
In the fight against cold sores on the lips, you can try “Zovirax” 5% (5 g) - cream, the price of which in pharmacies is about 190 rubles. It is made on the basis of acyclovir.
You can also pay attention to such a drug as Zovirax Duo-Active. This is a unique cream that is made on the basis of a double-action formula. The composition is based on acyclovir and hydrocortisone. The first component fights the virus, and the second relieves inflammation. Zovirax Duo-Asset is more expensive than a simple Zovirax. The price for a 2 g tube is about 300 rubles. She is justified:
- Thanks to the two active components, the disease is easier to tolerate.
- The cream is convenient to use. Some time after application, it dries on the skin and becomes invisible.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that Pencivir is not the only drug for the treatment of cold sores on the lips. There are various antiviral medications. Judging from the reviews of Pencivir, this drug did not help some people with herpes, but its analogues turned out to be effective. The thing is that each organism is individual. Indeed, Pencivir may not help someone. No medicine provides a 100% guarantee of effectiveness. If "Pencivir" does not help, then you can use some of its analogues and look at the result of treatment.