One treatment for Feline Herpes recommended to
me via email:
One treatment is low dose oral Interferon Alpha and L-Lysine(which is an immune
system booster to help his own body fight it off). Interferon-A is available from
a vet, but L-Lysine is over the counter (you can find it at a health food
store). A treatment for the active infection would be Trifluorothymidine (Viroptic) which
is an anti-viral eyedrop and an antibiotic (either Doxycycline, Azithromycin or
Rifampin). [New studies state that Triflurothymidine is the most effective anti-viral against active Feline Herpesvirus infections followed by Idoxuridine then Adenine Arabinoside. Acyclovir was not effective against Feline Herpesvirus in most studies. This may be due to the inability of FHV-1 to induce deoxycytidine kinase. However, one study did find improvement when using topical ophthalmic Acyclovir for Herpetic keratitis and conjunctivitis: View the Study ]
Those, used in conjunction with vitamin A supplementation really work great to clear up the active infection.
Once cleared, the patient should remain on the vitamin A, Interferon-A and L-Lysine to
prevent future recurrences. They should also be kept stress-free. Of course, you
should always get the permission form the vet before doing any of this. Similar
diseases (that cause similar symptoms) are Bartonella, Chlamydia, and Mycoplasma
[all of which can occur along with Herpes].
L-Lysine 500mg twice a day
Interferon 10 units orally once a day for 7 days, stop for 7 days, then give 10 units orally once daily for 7 days (and so on)
Doxycycline 5 mg per pound twice daily for 6 weeks
Azithromycin 5 mg per pound once daily for 21 days
Rifampin 5 mg per pound once a day for 21 days
For vitamin A supplement you can use Felivite 2 with Taurine (it contains vitamin A as well as a few others to help with immune boosting)
Eye Drops are usually dosed three times a day (use caution to use NOTHING containing a steroid as steroids will actually aggravate the eye and make it worse)
All of these dosages came from The
Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association Jan/Feb 2004, pg 6-12