title: Treatment of herpes labialis: comparison of two OTC drugs and untreated controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rapid resolution of active herpes labialis lesions is of great benefit to the patient not only in terms of controlling pain and disfigurement, but in disruption of needed dental treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Using three groups, this retrospective study investigated the time required to complete healing and the loss of discomfort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on 180 completed surveys, responses were divided into three groups: One group used Abreva (GlaxoSmithKline, Parsippany, NJ, USA). The second used Viroxyn (Quadex Pharmaceuticals, West Jordan, UT, USA). The third group, the Control group, consisted of untreated lesions. All three groups were asked about past experiences with lesions treated using Abreva and/or Viroxyn, and lesions which were left untreated. In addition, 58 participants who had used Viroxyn only responded. Participants were provided standardized responses from which to choose.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For both the time to healing and time to loss of discomfort, participants in both the Abreva and Viroxyn groups experienced significant improvements. Relative to the Abreva, Viroxyn provided significant improvement in both outcomes (all t-tests; all p < 0.001). Relative to the Control group, Viroxyn and Abreva offered an 8.0 and 4.0 day reduction in time to healing, respectively. Loss of discomfort occurred within 3.0 days and 1 hour for Abreva and Viroxyn, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relative to the untreated controls, both Abreva and Viroxyn offered a significant reduction in both the time to healing and time to loss of discomfort. Furthermore, Viroxyn offered a significant reduction relative to Abreva. .
authors.affiliation: Quadex Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Midvale, UT 84047, USA.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Browning
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Teerlink
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Veit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006560:Herpes Labialis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; C529236:docosanol