Help please: Itching from herpes

I just found out I have genital herpes 3 days before I left for college. I'm on Acyclovir it's been about 6 days into taking it, the sores don't burn when i pee as much as they did before, but I'm itching EXTREMELY BAD to the point that I can't sleep, I haven't told my mom because she will freak out on me , she is not compassionate, the person I got it from is the only one I can talk to about it but the problem is I wanna take a semester off to deal with this , but I don't know what to tell my mom, she is going to tell my whole family I'm sure, I don't know what to do. If I stay on campus my roommate is going to notice I never sleep & I'm always figgity & to top it off I'm constipated. Help? Advice?

I don't think you should take a semester off from school to deal with it. That's only gonna put you in a situation where herpes is all you think about. Stay in school. Focus on that and the herpes will take a back burner in your life. There are creams that you can get to help the itching. Also, you could take melatonin to help you sleep better at night. And my advice would be don't tell your mother. I haven't told me mom, because I know she would freak out and probably just make me seek worse about the whole thing. And she would probably tell the whole family too, so I won't be telling her unless I absolutely have to. But if you take some time off school I feel like you're letting herpes win. Don't do that! You can beat this and I know you'll get through it! Don't let herpes run your life! Show it that you're the boss! Good luck with everything!

Hello lifegoeson1234!

I am thinking that hopefully this outbreak and itching will go away soon. They usually don't last that long. So soon you will be able to sleep well again and the itching and pain will go down. I don't see that as a reason to take off school! On the contrary hopefully you can use this as an experience to grow! You can look into taking different medicines every day to lower the chance of an outbreak, personally I am on Valtrex. As far as constipation goes, I get that too and I would buy some Miralax powder that you mix with water. It doesn't taste bad and it will help with it within the day usually.

I hope you feel better!

I've been trying to figure out why I start itching during my sleep. It always seems to be at like 5am(weird). I try to block it from my mind. One time it got so bad I couldn't stop scratching. That ended badly. What kind of creams work?

Hi! First off...I am so new to this too and having a struggle myself. However, I know two things for sure.....1. You need to stay in school 2. there is over the counter stuff you can buy to help ease the itching. If you can go to the clinic at school and speak to someone I think that would help. Also, ask for lidocaine cream. I'm getting the feeling {and I do this too} I get myself so worked up I itch am paranoid about everything. I'm learning that I need to breath and try relaxing techniques you can youtube them "guided meditation" I like Chopra. This is all advice I received from people on this site and it has help. Drink a lot of water too and try focusing your mind on something else.

Please as someone who left school and didn't return short of one semester to graduate DON'T LEAVE SCHOOL! Keep positive~

I would also like to add...Wash your sheets etc. make your bed fresh (get like Tide with Downy. (if you can handle light scents.... it makes every thing smell so fresh) and fix your room nice and your bed. Keep your room cool. Put loose fitting clothes on and try to play this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0IOf08pTRc put your earphones in as you fall asleep. It has been really helpful for me. I'm not good at meditating but this is helping. I don't make a huge effort, I just listen and relax.

If you were my child...I would hug you and tell you just what I have told you here. (I'm 45 a mother and the truth is I haven't told anyone and all I want is a hug and a good cry with my mom!

Stay in school, go to the clinic (they can give you something for the itching, try to speak with someone with experience in the clinic. College (under any circumstance) and worrying will make you constipated....it happens when our bodies are stressed and in a new environment. Drink prune juice with a little apple juice, ice (need the ice) and mix it together. Go slow, a cup in the morning (see how that goes) then try adding a cup at night if you need it. Take a walk...it will help. I also would suggest looking into taking some vitamins.

As two wise ladies on here told me......you need to love yourself and give yourself the attention you wished you got from someone else. Learning to control this and just making it a part of your life will do wonders. Don't let it lead your life or define you. We can all navigate this together..collectively we can heal our minds and souls. Thinking of you~and sending hugs.

Agreeing with the others who said to stay in school. When I found out, it was on a 5 minute break during a work training an hour away from home. As badly as I wanted to leave and go home, I forced myself to sit through the training and it honestly helped me so much because as soon as I got home and had no distractions, it was all I could think about - and that didn't help! All you need is time to adjust and speaking from experience, that first outbreak is the worst and lasts the longest. During that time, it's really easy to focus on it and think of it as the worst possible thing, but after you get over this hurdle it'll be much easier. The acyclovir (which is what I took for my first one too) took me about 6-7 days to work fully (take it the full 10 I'm assuming you were prescribed) and you can always take it longer if it doesn't resolve. The itching was worse for me at night too but they sell witch hazel wipes for hemorrhoids and I put those in the fridge and then wiped with them before bed and after the bathroom and that helped a lot. I was also constipated but I took stool softener to help and laxatives when needed, and remember, this is all temporary! You will feel much better soon!