Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Herpes and spicy food

I know this is a somewhat crazy question--but given that diet seems to be important in managing herpes outbreaks, does anyone know if spicy food (more specifically digesting capsaicin, the chemical that makes food spicy)  has either a positive or negative effect on frequency, duration, or pain of outbreaks?
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
101028 tn?1419603004
The lysine/arginine theory never panned out outside of the petri dish.  Pick better resources to learn about herpes at.

Look at it this way - if the vast majority of folks who have genital herpes have no idea they have it until tested, do you think they are doing anything differently than those of us who do have obvious lesions?  I think not.

grace
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I feel like I've read a lot about lysine and arginine levels in food as possible triggers in herpes outbreaks.  Is that just anecdotal or does that apply only to oral herpes?
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
Actually when it comes to genital herpes, diet doesn't seem to have much correlation at all. Oral herpes can be triggered by acidic foods or spicey foods but no such known correlation between those foods and genital herpes.

grace
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.