Acyclovir – a modern drug for the treatment of herpes, as well as some other viral diseases.
Acyclovir has a direct antiviral effect, which means that it acts directly on the viruses themselves, preventing them from multiplying.
Operating principle
The mechanism of the antiviral effect of the drug is that the active substance contained in the preparation enters the virus-infected cells. Once in the cells, the virus begins to multiply in them, using nucleotides present in the cell to synthesize the viral genome.
The structure of acyclovir is similar to the structure of guanine present in the cells. Viral enzymes modify acyclovir to acyclovir triphosphate, which is structurally similar to deoxyguanosine triphosphate, normally included in the sequence of viral DNA. The “unsuspecting” viral enzyme embeds a Trojan horse into its DNA chain. And in vain, since acyclovir triphosphate makes it impossible to replicate the virus. This stops its reproduction and greatly facilitates the body’s immune forces fight against viral particles.
Drug description
The drug is available in various dosage forms:
- acyclovir tablets, 200 or 400 mg
- ointment
- eye ointment
- creams
- parenteral solutions
The question may arise, which dosage form is optimal? This must be decided by the attending physician. However, it should be noted that in the case when it comes to rashes on the skin, it is best to use a cream or ointment, from which the active substance enters the reproduction sites of the virus directly. If you use Acyclovir tablets, then due to the low bioavailability of the drug in the blood gets only a small amount. This means that the effectiveness of the tool will be lower.
Acyclovir – although an inexpensive, but quite a serious drug. Therefore, Acyclovir tablets are sold in pharmacies only by prescription. The only exceptions are creams and ointments.
The drug has some side effects. Allergic reactions to the components of the drug, headache, dizziness, gastrointestinal dysfunction – nausea, diarrhea, vomiting can occur.
You can not combine the drug intake with alcohol. The fact is that the drug is metabolized in the liver with the help of the same enzymes as alcohol. Therefore, if you take Acyclovir and alcohol at the same time, this will lead to the fact that both substances will accumulate in the blood and, as a result, to poisoning.
