From the Research
Role of Topical Lidocaine in Treating Genital Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Infections
- Topical lidocaine has been used for pain management in HSV infections, as seen in a case report where a 24-year-old transgender woman was treated with oral valaciclovir and topical lidocaine cream (3%) for HSV-1 infection of the neolabia, resulting in symptom relief in five days 1.
- The use of topical lidocaine in combination with other antiviral agents, such as acyclovir, has shown promise in enhancing skin permeation and retention of the drugs, potentially leading to more effective treatment of HSV infections 2.
- Local anesthetics, including lidocaine, have been found to destabilize HSV-1 virions, reducing their infectivity, although the clinical significance of this effect is unclear 3.
- Other topical antiviral agents, such as idoxuridine, interferons, and penciclovir, have shown significant clinical benefit against HSV infections, and may be considered as alternative or complementary treatments to topical lidocaine 4, 5.
- The combination of topical lidocaine with other antiviral agents or the use of vehicles that enhance skin penetration may result in more efficacious treatment of HSV infections, although further studies are needed to fully explore these possibilities 2, 5.