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Synergy Pharmaceutical has announced that it will introduce a new natural treatment for herpes that early evidence suggests is more effective than existing antiviral therapies. The new treatment is not off the pharmacist’s shelf. Instead, doctors will offer it to patients via separate channels in what is being heralded as a brave and innovative move for the sector.HIV was once the most controversial and least understood STI. But over time, due to better treatment options and medical breakthroughs[1], that stigma has decreased considerably. The same, however, has not occurred for people with herpes.
Herpes is a less visible and severe STI than AIDs. For that reason, there’s a general lack of understanding about the disease, including what it does to the body, how it’s contracted, and how it alters the patient’s life. Stigma, therefore, remains.
An age-old stigma
Fearmongering and misinformation regarding herpes date back nearly 50 years. A 1973 TIME magazine[2] article deemed herpes “today’s scarlet letter”. Today, views are similar. A 2015 article from Verywell Health[3] showed the search term “herpes dirty” produced 600,000 results, with many writers substituting the word dirty for herpes.
These negative views of herpes sufferers can have serious consequences. Of the estimated 12% of Americans who’ve contracted HSV-2, 4 in 5 haven’t been officially diagnosed[4] because they refuse to get tested. Their fear of the stigma far outweighs the benefits of seeking treatment.
Herpes and mental health
In the first few weeks or months after the initial herpes diagnosis, patients experience a range of emotions including embarrassment, shame, anger, and depression. Some can spend six months adjusting to their new reality[5].
Depression can become a serious threat to a patient’s mental health. Health.com profiled Lee, a 32-year-old woman who had lived with the virus for 5 years at the time of publication[6]. She reported rampant outbreaks and feeling “depressed all the time” during the first year after receiving the news. Moving forward and getting healthier required her to face the stigma head-on and talk openly about herpes with her friends and former partners. To get a positive response and avoid judgment, she had to frame the conversation as one that would help protect the people around her. Lee was fortunate to overcome her first year of depressive symptoms. Many do not[7].
Doctors aren’t always the answer
For new herpes patients, a medical doctor’s office can seem like a place of hope, where they can learn more about the virus and get the help that they need. But no two patients have the same experience.
A 2004 study found that some herpes patients received prescriptions while others didn’t[8]. Different forms of testing (e.g. cultures, antibody tests, physical examinations) were used to make the diagnosis. Some patients received additional educational resources about the virus while others were denied. And not every patient had an appointment that was long enough to answer their questions.
Herpes isn’t usually screened for during routine STI exams. The reasons for the omission are justifiable[9] – herpes screening can cause undue anxiety, and testing before symptoms appear doesn’t always lead to better health outcomes. But this means herpes is the STI that’s talked about the least in medical settings, and the silence further fuels the stigma. Furthermore, treatments don’t remove the virus from the body, they merely suppress it.
There is growing acknowledgement, therefore, that patients need a genuine cure. Synergy Pharmaceuticals appears to have the first true answer in the herpes field.
The firm’s Combination Herpes Treatment comprises five natural ingredients – L-Lysine, Tribulus, Astragalus, Rhodiola, and a proprietary Unique Amino Formula (www.synergy-pharmaceuticals.com). The treatment is accessible online without a prescription and can be sent to patient addresses directly. Testing shows that successful outcomes are achieved after 4-6 months of daily treatment.
The therapy is generating attention in the medical industry, producing the first reported cases of herpes being completely cured. Together with improved recovery time frames from illnesses and the development of Synergy’s combination as the first cure to the herpes virus, the breakthrough appears promising.
Conclusion
Herpes patients suffer every time they hear an insensitive joke or reveal their status. Synergy’s treatment helps to bypass stigma by eliminating the virus, potentially offering hope to millions of affected patients worldwide.
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For further information about Synergy Pharmaceuticals, please refer to the contact details below.
Website: https://www.synergy-pharmaceuticals.com
Contact: Simon Anderson
Email: media@synergy-pharmaceuticals.com
Phone: (0)38-397-2300
Address: Level 50, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia
Sources:
[1] Mandavilli, Apoorva. (March 4, 2019). H.I.V. Is Reported Cured in a Second Patient, a Milestone in the Global AIDS Epidemic. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/health/aids-cure-london-patient.html
[2] TIME. (April 23, 1973). Medicine: The Case Against Herpes. Retrieved from: http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,945246,00.html
[3] Boskey, Elizabeth. (December 13, 2019). Addressing the Consequences of Herpes Stigma. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellhealth.com/addressing-herpes-stigma-3132586
[4] Anderson, L.V. (December 2, 2019). How Herpes Became a Sexual Boogeyman. Retrieved from: https://slate.com/technology/2019/12/genital-herpes-stigma-history-explained.html
[5] American Sexual Health Association. (2020). Emotional Issues. Retrieved from: http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/herpes/emotional-issues/
[6] Sloan, Louise. (February 29, 2016). Living With Herpes. Retrieved from: https://www.health.com/condition/herpes-simplex/living-with-herpes-i-was-ashamed-of-having-herpes-until-i-learned-how-to-treat-it
[7] University of California, Santa Barbara. (October 16, 2018). Psychological Issues Related to Herpes. Retrieved from: https://sexinfo.soc.ucsb.edu/article/psychological-issues-related-herpes
[8] Patrick, D. M., et al. (May 28, 2004). Patient satisfaction with care for genital herpes: insights from a global survey. Retrieved from: https://sti.bmj.com/content/80/3/192.info
[9] Saint Thomas, Sophie. (May 10, 2019). Here’s Why Doctors Don’t Usually Test for Herpes. Retrieved from: https://www.self.com/story/why-doctors-dont-usually-test-herpes
Contact Info:
Name: Simon Anderson
Email: Send Email
Organization: Synergy Pharmaceuticals
Address: Level 50, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia
Phone: (0)38-397-2300
Website: https://www.synergy-pharmaceuticals.com
Release ID: 88968100