Dimethyl sulfoxide, commonly abbreviated DMSO, is an industrial solvent with a controversial history as a medical treatment for a wide range of health conditions, including herpes. While some laboratory findings hint that DMSO may be useful in treating or preventing herpes, there is not currently enough evidence to support this use. As with any health supplement, consult your doctor before using DMSO.
Medical Treatments
DMSO is a by-product of paper manufacturing. Used primarily as an industrial reagent, DMSO gained popularity as a treatment for numerous health conditions, including arthritis, cancer and sexually transmitted diseases like herpes. However, due to concerns over the safety and efficacy of DMSO for these uses, health officials now discourage using DMSO for any medical application except for the treatment of a bladder condition called interstitial cystitis, explains an article published in the journal "Reviews in Clinical and Basic Pharmacology."
Herpes Treatment
In laboratory studies using isolated human cells grown in a petri dish, DMSO has displayed anti-viral activity against the herpes virus. Treatment with DMSO was shown to inhibit the replication of the herpes virus and reduce its ability to infect new cells, reports a study published in the May 2002 issue of the medical journal "BioMedCentral Infectious Diseases." However, cells living in a laboratory dish are very different from cells living in a human body, and additional research is needed to confirm these results.
False Claims
Despite the lack of clear evidence supporting the use of DMSO as a treatment for herpes, some manufacturers of health-care products continue to market and sell DMSO products as a cure or treatment for herpes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautions consumers that these claims are false and have not been validated by clinical studies. Examples of false claims include products such as DMSO Cream with Aloe and DMSO Roll-on, produced by the manufacturer Never An Outbreak.
Impurities
Medical-grade DMSO that is safe for human consumption is only available with a prescription for the treatment of interstitial cystitis. Industrial-grade DMSO can be purchased from chemical manufacturers for use in factories, but these preparations of DMSO are not safe for use in humans as a treatment for herpes or any other medical condition. Ingesting or applying industrial-grade DMSO to your skin may result in exposure to harmful impurities and may cause dangerous health consequences, warns the University of Maryland Medical Center.
References
- "Reviews in Clinical and Basic Pharmacology"; Medical Use of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO); BN Swanson; 1985
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Sulfur; Steven D. Ehrlich et al.; May 2009
- "Reviews in Clinical and Basic Pharmacology"; Medical Use of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO); BN Swanson; 1985
- "BioMedCentral Infectious Diseases"; Dimethyl Sulfoxide Blocks Herpes Simplex Virus-1 Productive Infection in Vitro Acting at Different Stages With Positive Cooperativity. Application Of Micro-Array Analysis; J.S. Aquilar et al.; May 2002
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: List of OTC Products Falsely Claiming to Treat or Prevent Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs); May 2011
