I have a close friend who had something very unusual happen several years ago which resulted in the sudden loss of hearing in one ear and bad vestibular problems, which she has slowly adjusted to. Today she learned that she has oral herpes. She has been a support person to me over the years so was aware of the connection between herpes and Meniere's. As you can imagine, the idea of getting Meniere's is quite frightening to her. I don't recall any relationship between the incidence of oral (or genital) herpes and Menieres. And it seems to me that many people have those without having Menieres. Does anyone know about this?
If you read Dr Gacek's publications and other studies on pub med and in our DB you will find several linking the connection of HSV's and Meniere's. A very simplified explanation, from what I understand is, HSV 1 (oral) and HSV 2 (genital) embed themselves on nerves. HSV's are found in the gut, lungs, brain, inner ear etc. That's why some people with HSV's do not have Meniere's, if the HSV attaches to on a nerve other than the inner ear. Researchers are finding links to various diseases and HSV's.
Thanks for responding, Vicki. I think my question wasn't clear. I got dizzy in the middle of writing so maybe it needed more editing. I well know about the HSV in the ear. I'm greatly benefitting from antivirals myself which is why my friend knows about this connection and got concerned. What I'm wondering is if a person gets HSV orally are they any more likely to get it in the ear than anyone else.
I wonder about this often. As a child I had numerous bouts of herpes on my mouth/lip area especially in the corners. I had shingles in my early 30s so obviously I have the virus. What scares the heck out of me is I have a nine year old grandson who has developed herpes on his mouth especially when he is run down. The good news is his pediatrician has prescribed anti-viral for him whenever he can feel a bout coming on. For me it was too late for anti-viral due to advanced stages of MM but I do worry about my grandson
Red Even though my kids are not biological, I often wonder the same thing. I have no history of their genetic makeup/hereditary issued but this summer at the beach my 10 year old had an issue with his mouth and a blister on his lips. My wife called in an antiviral as well. The worst things went through my mind and the Chief had to sort of talk me back off the cliff as the what if's went through my mind.
I too had a lot of cold sores as a kid and developed Meniere's at age 13, by that time I had dozens of cold sores Since its a facial HSV I could see it traveling to nerves in the ear this site states this: http://patient.info/doctor/human-herpes-viruses Herpes simplex virus types I and II (HHV1 & 2) •Primary infection occurs through a break in the mucous membranes of the mouth or throat, via the eye or genitals or directly via minor abrasions in the skin. •Most individuals are infected with HSV-1 by 1-2 years of age; HSV-2 infection tends to be with the onset of sexual activity. •Initial infection is usually asymptomatic, although there may be minor local vesicular lesions. Local multiplication is followed by viraemia and systemic infection and subsequent lifelong latent infection with periodic reactivation. •During primary infection, the virus enters peripheral sensory nerves and migrates along axons to sensory nerve ganglia in the CNS - hence managing to escape the host's immune response. •Between reactivations, the virus is truly latent - viral DNA is maintained as an episome (not integrated) with limited expression of specific virus genes required for the maintenance of latency. The delicate balance of latency may be upset by various disturbances - physical (eg, injury, UV light, hormones, menstruation) or psychological (eg, stress, emotional upset). •Reactivation of latent virus leads to recurrent disease - virus travels back down sensory nerves to surface of body and replicates, causing tissue damage:
About six weeks before my first severe attack I got a terrible sore in the roof of my mouth. Went to oral surgeon who said it was a virus and gave me a gel medication to use and it cleared up in about a month. At the time I asked about a biopsy but he didn't think it was necessary. Now two years later and still suffering with vertigo I sure wish a biopsy had been done!
Unfortunately, a biopsy, the physical excision (cutting out) of representative tissue cannot reveal the existence of an embedded virus. Viruses are too small to be seen with a conventional light microscope. And finding viruses in the cells using an electron microscope is extremely difficult, requiring extensive tissue preparation (drying, staining, etc.). This is extremely expensive and can be done only by highly-trained microscopy technicians at universities or research institutions. And even if some virons (virus particles) could be imaged, to determine what species and chemistry they have requires subsequent culturing in live chicken eggs or tissues of research animals, followed by detailed precise biochemical and immune characterization of what gets cultured (if the virons can even be prompted to replicate outside of human tissue). Sharon, are you, or have you yet taken any antiherpetic drugs? If not, get your doctor to prescribe, as documented by Dr. Gacek in Boston (http://menieres.org/talk/index.php?topic=557.0) --John of Ohio
Thanks for the answers. I think I'm going to encourage her to take Lysine. She's been given a round of Valacyclovir now. I never had herpes myself that I know of before this.
before the Meniere's I mean. I'm think it's likely I have it now since the anti-virals are so effective.
John, after emailing Dr Gacek I started Acyclovir July 2014 at 2400 mg. I stayed at 1200 mg for over six months, then tried Valciclovir but it bothered my stomach. In April 2015 went back on Acyclovir and added 3000 mg Lysine (plus other sup on your regime) until Oct when I tried Famciclovir and increased Lysine to 4500 mg. So as you can see after over 18 months I've maxed out on AVs and Lysine and still have almost daily dizziness. Just started with yet another new ENT and will have more tests in the next few weeks. I have no doubt AVs have helped but not enough. Just to be clear I will continue with this treatment for the foreseeable future.