Famvir

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FAMVIR® (famciclovir) is an antiviral medicine that may help relieve all symptoms of genital herpes and help herpes sores heal faster.

How FAMVIR works

When you take FAMVIR, it is absorbed into your bloodstream, and then converted into another drug called penciclovir. A virus infects the cells and begins to multiply over and over again, making new viruses. Penciclovir stops the herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 from multiplying, which may reduce the symptoms of the outbreak and helps sores to heal faster.

Types of Treatment

After the first outbreak* of genital herpes, FAMVIR can be used to treat a herpes infection in one of two ways:

Episodic treatment—your doctor treats an outbreak of genital herpes as it occurs. The usual dose of FAMVIR is one 125-mg pill, twice a day, for 5 days.

Suppressive treatment—if you have frequent or severe outbreaks, you take one 250-mg pill, twice a day, for up to one year to suppress the genital herpes virus and and help to preventoutbreaks from happening.

Patients with HIV—FAMVIR is the only antiviral therapy indicated for treating genital or orolabial herpes in people infected with HIV. In patients with herpes simplex and HIV, the dose of FAMVIR is 500 mg, twice a day, for 7 days.

When discussing treatment options with your doctor, be sure to discuss your lifestyle, how you feel about outbreaks, and the burden of an outbreak on you. Remember, you have a choice of treatments (episodic or suppressive). Talk to your doctor about the type of treatment that would be most appropriate for you.

For episodic and suppressive treatment, always take your medicine as prescribed by your doctor. It's important to know that FAMVIR will not prevent the spread of genital herpes to others. During an outbreak, you must avoid sexual contact. If you are or thinking about becoming pregnant and you are currently taking any antiviral therapy, please notify your physician.

Important Information

FAMVIR is not for everyone. Please discuss with your doctor if FAMVIR is right for you. In clinical trials, the most common side effects reported in people taking FAMVIR are headache, diarrhea, and nausea.

* The efficacy of FAMVIR has not been established for the treatment of an initial outbreak of genital herpes infection.

† If you have impaired kidney function, your doctor will determine the appropriate dose for you.

‡ The safety and efficacy of FAMVIR therapy beyond 1 year of treatment have not been established.

No antiviral has been proven to prevent the transmission of genital herpes.

There is no cure for genital herpes.

Side Effects

The most common side effects reported in people taking FAMVIR are headache, diarrhea, and nausea. FAMVIR has not been proven to be effective for the treatment of an initial outbreak of genital herpes infection.

If you have impaired kidney function, your doctor will determine the appropriate dose for you. The safety and efficacy of FAMVIR therapy beyond 1 year of treatment have not been established.