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Cold sores  treatment 

Be prepared to take action at the first symptom. Hear back from a provider within 24 hours and get peace of mind and the treatment you need without the uncomfortable trips to the pharmacy. Get your first month of treatment free on a quarterly plan, if approved.

Free shipping

Prescription medication

Unlimited follow-ups

No commitment / cancel anytime

About cold sores

It's more common than you think.

Oral herpes (also known as cold sores) are painful sores on or around the lips caused by HSV-1 (and rarely HSV-2).

48%

48% of Americans ages 14–49 have oral herpes.

Yes. We’ll give you accurate information, personalized treatment with scientifically-proven medication, and ongoing care to help you treat outbreaks.

Treatment for cold sores

Requires prescription through online visit with a US-licensed healthcare practitioner

Valacyclovir

Generic Valtrex

Starting at $22*


*for your first order

Valacyclovir is an antiviral medication that is used to treat oral herpes and genital herpes, which are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). It can also be used to treat varicella zoster virus (VZV).

Valacyclovir isn’t safe for some people and others may need a lower than normal dose to use valacyclovir safely. Tell your doctor if you have kidney disease or if your immune system isn’t normal because of a bone marrow or kidney transplant or HIV. Common side effects of valacyclovir include headache, nausea, and abdominal pain. There is no cure for herpes, and even with treatment it may be possible to spread herpes.

Cold sores

What to expect

Man relaxing in the grass with sunglasses looking fly.
Man relaxing in the grass with sunglasses looking fly.

Valacyclovir will get to work as soon as the medication is in your system, but the time it takes to see noticeable results varies from person to person.

Treatment updates: If you still don’t see results, your provider may be able to recommend a different treatment plan.

Help with side effects: If you experience side effects, message your provider and they’ll help determine if a different medication or dose is better for you.

How Ro works

  1. 01

    Online visit

    Share your symptoms and medical history with a US-licensed healthcare provider for evaluation.

  2. 02

    Free and discreet deliveries

    Your treatment will arrive in discreet packaging with free 2-day shipping.

  3. 03

    Ongoing care

    Send your provider a message any time to discuss updating your treatment, address side effects, or answer other treatment-related questions or concerns.

FAQ

Ro is a telemedicine company that provides a discreet, convenient, and affordable way for you to receive hair loss treatment from a provider—all without leaving the couch. It starts with an online visit. The online visit will ask you about your symptoms, your medical history, and other basic information. You'll also be asked to upload a photo of your ID to verify your identity. Once you have done all of this, a provider will review your information, determine if you're a candidate for treatment through telemedicine, and craft a personalized treatment plan for you.

Our healthcare providers prescribe valacyclovir (generic Valtrex) to treat cold sores (oral herpes). When used properly, this medication can abort an outbreak at the first sign that one is coming on or lessen its severity. See important safety information.

Your provider may prescribe valacyclovir for cold sore suppressive therapy. This is an off-label use of the drug, which means that the FDA hasn’t yet approved valacyclovir as a suppressive treatment for cold sores. Healthcare professionals are allowed to prescribe FDA-approved medications for off-label uses if they think it is the best course of treatment for their patient. Talk to your provider if you have any questions about using valacyclovir for cold sore suppression.

The Ro pharmacy can fill valid prescriptions for valacyclovir written by Ro-affiliated healthcare providers. Through the Ro, 500 mg tablets of valacyclovir cost $0.97 per day or $87 for a 3 month plan ($29 per month) and 1000 mg tablets cost $1.60 per day or $144 for a 3 month plan ($48 per month).

Cold sore (oral herpes) medication is available, and it works extremely well. But it requires you to dedicate the time to learn about your condition and work with your provider to craft the ideal, personalized treatment plan.

When you do, you’ll be able to identify your specific symptoms (prodrome) and use your medication to shorten or stop the outbreak from occurring. See important safety information.

What follows is a summary and does not include every side effect possible. Common side effects include headache, feeling sick, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, skin reaction after exposure to sunlight (photosensitivity), rash, or itching (pruritus).

Uncommon side effects include feeling confused, seeing or hearing things that aren’t there (hallucinations), feeling very drowsy, tremors, or feeling agitated, shortness of breath (dyspnea), stomach discomfort, rash, sometimes itchy, hive-like rash (urticaria), low back pain (kidney pain), blood in the urine (hematuria), reduction in the number of blood platelets which are cells that help blood to clot (thrombocytopenia), reduction in the number of white blood cells (leucopenia), increase in substances produced by the liver.

Rare side effects include unsteadiness when walking and lack of coordination (ataxia), slow, slurred speech (dysarthria), fits (convulsions), altered brain function (encephalopathy), unconsciousness (coma), confused or disturbed thoughts (delirium), kidney problems where you pass little or no urine. Lastly, watch out for a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). These are rare in people taking Valtrex. Anaphylaxis is marked by the rapid development of flushing, itchy skin rash, swelling of the lips, face, neck, and throat—causing difficulty in breathing (angioedema), fall in blood pressure leading to collapse. If any of these occur, get emergency treatment immediately. See important safety information.

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