Treatment of Herpes Simplex as Outpatient

In the outpatient clinical setting

Antiviral medication is the treatment of choice for Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infections.

As first-line treatment medications, oral antivirals such as valaciclovir, famciclovir, and acyclovir are prescribed. Acyclic nucleoside phosphonates are broad-spectrum antivirals that are effective against a wide range of infections, allowing them to be utilized as both episodic and suppressive therapies. As a suppressive medicine, oral antivirals diminish reoccurrences, the risk of genital herpes transmission, and the development of resistance. As an episodic therapy, oral antiviral shortens the duration of the disease, provides symptomatic relief, and minimizes systematic complications (Acton, 2012).

Another treatment is prescription creams and ointments

While the topical application route is discouraged because of limited clinical benefits, the nucleoside ointment and creams such as Zovirax and Denavir can be applied to fever blisters among patients in outpatient clinical settings (Acton, 2012). The treatments eliminate the pathogens through disrupting viral replication, a pharmacodynamics feature that provides soothing to the painful sores as well as shorten the healing time and duration of skin tingling and flu-like symptoms.

Besides the primary treatment

There is a need for considering personalized aspects, including the location of the cold sores as well as manifestations. For instance, symptomatic treatments such as painkillers should be prescribed in the event of constitutional effects such as fever and unbearable pain (Hall & Hall, 2010). Immunocompromised individuals, as well as patients diagnosed with HSV encephalitis, should be given high-dose of antiviral drugs. Another outpatient treatment aspect should be wound care. The necessity arises from the risk of opportunistic bacterial skin infections that can aggravate the management of the disease.

Does Tanner Staging Vary from Culture to Culture?

Tanner staging varies from culture to culture. Like other practices such as dietary choices that are linked to certain groups and civilization, the scale of physical development and measures employed in the Tanner scale derive their meaning from cultural-specific norms, beliefs, symbols, and values.

For instance

Secondary sexual characteristics are regarded an epitome of transition from childhood to adulthood in the western societies. However, the idealization is not universally accepted and practiced. For example, while Tanner’s idealization that the widening of the pelvic region is an adaptive feature for childbirth is an accepted scientific concept, it obtains its meaning from the western ideas. Women who have undergone the physiological changes are considered adults who not only make decisions that pertain to their life but also attract courtship. However, the views contrast beliefs held by many communities in Africa, where girls as young as seven were deemed ready for marriage. Unlike the western societies where girls are considered adults based on physical changes, maturity among most African cultures rests on the rite of passage (Elmore, 2012).

Another element

That paints Turner staging as a cultural-specific element is the current views on puberty onset. A growing body of evidence has confirmed that lifestyle changes are triggering weight gain and physiological changes. For instance, because of the disparaging rates of childhood obesity among African Americans, experts point that girls from the ethnoracial group are experiencing early puberty onset when compared to other ones (Bhuiyan et al., 2015). The disproportionate risk of the disorder will correspondingly lead to a decline in the start of puberty, and influence notions of development. Chumlea et al. (2003) best exemplifies the views, where they report that African American girls experience menarche six months earlier when compared to their European American Counterparts.

References

Acton, A. (2012). Herpes simplex virus 1: New insights for the healthcare professional: 2012 edition. ScholarlyEditions.

Bhuiyan, A. R., Srinivasan, S. R., Chen, W., Fernandez, C., Xu, J. H., & Berenson, G. S. (2015). The timing of menarche related to carotid artery intima-media thickness in black and white young adult women: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Annals of Epidemiology, 25(6), 414-419.

Chumlea, W. C., Schubert, C. M., Roche, A. F., Kulin, H. E., Lee, P. A., Himes, J. H., & Sun, S. S. (2003). Age at menarche and racial comparisons in US girls. Pediatrics, 111(1), 110-113.

Elmore, T. (2012). Artificial maturity: Helping kids meet the challenge of becoming authentic adults. John Wiley & Sons.

Hall, B. J., & Hall, J. C. (Eds.). (2010). Sauer’s manual of skin diseases. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.