by Theodore S. Wentworth, J.D.
 

What would you say if I told you I have been a medical and human rights attorney for 40 years? “So what?” But if I convinced you that I’ve learned a lot about “alternative” medicine since my first wife and best friend contracted cancer, you might just probably want to hear my slant on what I found that works for a lot of people. Here’s a find that might be so effective that most sufferers can say, “Adios, Herpes.”
 

The primary difference between the two viral types is in where they typically establish latency in the body- their "site of preference." HSV-1 usually establishes latency in the trigeminal ganglion, a collection of nerve cells near the ear. From there, it tends to recur on the lower lip or face. HSV-2 usually sets up residence in the sacral ganglion at the base of the spine. From there, it recurs in the genital area .

Even this difference is not absolute either type can reside in either or both parts of the body and infect oral and/or genital areas. Unfortunately, many people aren't aware of this, which contributes both to the spread of type 1 and to the misperception that the two types are fundamentally different.

"People don't understand that you can have type 1 genitally or orally, that the two types are essentially the same virus,' says Marshall Clover, manager of the National Herpes Hotline." One type is associated with stigma, the other is "'just a cold sore"- our society has a euphemism for it so we don't even have to acknowledge that it's herpes.''

The common myth is that HSV-1 causes a mild infection that is occasionally bothersome, but never dangerous. The reality? HSV-1 is usually mild, especially when it infects the lips, face, or genitals. However, in some cases type 1 can recur spontaneously in the eye, causing ocular herpes, a potentially serious infection which can lead to blindness. In very rare cases HSV- 1 can spread spontaneously to the brain, causing herpes encephalitis, a dangerous infection that can lead to death. HSV-1 is also the usual cause of herpes whitlow, an infection on the finger, and "wrestler's herpes," (herpes gladiatorum) a herpes infection on the chest or face.

By comparison, HSV-2 is widely believed to be a painful, dangerous infection that affects only people with very active sex lives. The reality? Some 22% of adult Americans from all backgrounds, income levels, and ethnic groups have HSV-2. Like HSV-1, type 2 is usually mild-so mild that two- thirds of infected people don't even know they have it. Type 2 rarely causes complications or spreads to other parts of the body. It is the most common cause of neonatal herpes, a rare but dangerous infection in newborns; however, type 1 causes up to one-third of neonatal infections

Excerpted from: "GOOD" VIRUS / "BAD" VIRUS
The Truth about HSV-1 and HSV-2 from herpes.com

Being outdoors and in the sun was a big part of my life. I sport fished in the Pacific off Southern California all summer. No matter how careful I was, the boating environment generated its share of fever blisters. My fishing partner, Ed had exactly the same sensitivity. Nothing seemed to help. At the time here was no pill to prevent Herpes flare-ups, and while zinc oxide was effective, we tended to rub it or eat it off. Inevitably, the sun¾or reflected sun¾got to our lips. The Herpes blister predictably followed.

Ed and I invented a way to shade our lips by tearing the matches out of a common book of matches. We’d bend the remaining cardboard cover into a flat “W” so we could hold the center of it between our teeth allowing the wings of the W to shade our lips. We looked odd but it worked pretty well. It certainly cut the Herpes outbreaks in half¾but it wasn’t a solution.  TOP

Then, suddenly, my fever blisters stopped for apparently no reason while my partner still suffered badly. A year went by and I had no cold sores while Ed had more than a dozen. Then they returned as often as before. Curious, I thought I might have an answer.  

I had been suffering from a sour, gassy stomach for months before I resorted to a health food store for an alternative to antacids. I had a suspicion that the stuff I had taken on two or three occasions for a month might be the hero in this drama. TOP

From the health food store, in refrigerator section, I bought two bottles of Natren’s “Mega-dophilus” powder. (It’s also available in capsule form).  I kept one bottle and gave the second to Ed. I told him that its ability to re-flora the intestines had greatly improved my indigestion. I told him I’d read if our intestines lose the normal or “resident” bacteria they use to breakdown food and absorb nutrition, that “opportunistic” flora moves in, usually causing the food to putrefy rather than digest. I told Ed that I suspected that Natren’s Mega-dophilus had a side-benefit of being responsible for my dramatic absence of fever blisters the previous year. I showed Ed how, not wanting to kill the new bacteria with chlorine from tap water, I mixed a level half-teaspoon of the powder in a glass of bottled water first thing upon arising and last thing before going to bed. I doubled the dosage for the first week.  He agreed to try a bottle to see if he too, experienced a similar reduction in blisters. TOP

It worked for both of us! Now I wanted to know why. Naturally I checked with my many medical friends. All of them wrote it off to “coincidence” and left it at that. Nonetheless I pressed on. My mother had suffered a second Herpes outbreak on her eye and absolutely couldn’t eat grapefruit without getting a fever blister on her lip or under her left nostril. She tried using the Mega-dophilus (under protest). While her problems with fever blisters didn’t stop overnight, they lessened, then, within a year, trailed off to zero.

Seriously encouraged, whenever I saw anyone with a fever blister I introduced myself, told them of a possible solution and handed them a 3x5 card upon which I had written the remedy, my name and address, and the request that they let me know how the experiment turned out. Out of about 100, I heard back from 20 people. All 20 reported success.

The obvious success of Natren’s Mega-dophilus was enough for me, “Why,” was still an interest but not a priority. Years went by before I happened upon an article in The New England Journal of Medicine. From that article I learned how important it was to maintain correct resident bacteria in our colon in order to for it to produce and absorb B vitamins. TOP

That was the answer! We’ve been told that stress can cause a Herpes outbreak.

We’ve been taught for longer than I can remember that vitamin B is an important vitamin, critical to protecting nerves against the effects of stress. Herpes once contracted, forms a blister. After the blister heals, while the evidence of the virus disappears, we know that the virus itself has only retreated down a nerve pathway to nerve cells near the spine.

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