Aciclovir 400mg Tablets – 5-Day Cold Sore Course (15 Tablets)

Aciclovir is a prescription-only antiviral medicine. These 400mg tablets are used as a 5-day course for cold sores (herpes simplex on or around the lips) in people aged 12 and over, started at the first tingling or within 48 hours of the cold sore appearing. At Ways Pharmacy they are supplied only after a pharmacist has checked your symptoms, health and other medicines and confirmed that they are suitable. For many mild cold sores, an aciclovir cream is enough — the pharmacist will tell you if that applies to you.

How to access this medicine

1. Start your free online assessment. Answer the health questions online and confirm your identity (upload photo ID, or show it on a video call). The questionnaire asks when your symptoms started.
2. Pharmacist reviews and speaks with you. A GPhC-registered pharmacist contacts you by phone or video to go through your answers and confirm whether the medicine is suitable. Because treatment should start as early as possible, collecting from Holborn may be quicker than waiting for delivery.
3. If suitable, order and pay on this page. Once the pharmacist confirms the medicine is suitable, you order and pay on this page, or call 020 8106 7084. If it is not suitable — including when the pharmacist recommends self-care instead — you pay nothing, and the pharmacist explains your other options. If you have already paid and the pharmacist finds the medicine is not suitable, you receive a full refund.
4. We post your medicine or you collect it. Orders placed by 3pm on a weekday are posted the same day (see our shipping policy), or you can collect from Holborn.

There is no separate consultation fee. If the medicine you chose is not suitable, the pharmacist may suggest another option. Young people aged 12 to 17 can use the online service, but a parent or guardian must be present on the video call.

About this medicine

Dosage

• Adults and young people aged 12 and over: one 400mg tablet three times a day, spaced evenly through the day, for 5 days
• Start as early as possible — ideally at the tingling, burning or itching stage
• Swallow whole with water and drink plenty of fluids during the course
• One course is supplied per episode. Another supply needs a new assessment

This dose follows our Patient Group Direction and UK clinical guidance and is different from the dose in the manufacturer's leaflet; the pharmacist will explain this during your consultation. See our cold sore treatment service for more information, including cream options.

Warnings and who should not take this medicine

• Children under 12
• Anyone allergic to aciclovir or valaciclovir
• A sore near or in the eye, or a red, painful or light-sensitive eye — get help the same day
• Severe or widespread sores, or signs of a bacterial infection such as spreading redness, heat or pus
• A weakened immune system, for example because of chemotherapy or medicines that suppress immunity
• Frequent, severe cold sores that may need specialist treatment

Tell the pharmacist if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have kidney problems, are older, or take other medicines — especially probenecid, mycophenolate or medicines that can affect the kidneys. See a GP if the cold sore has not improved within 5 to 7 days or has not healed within 10 days.

Possible side effects

Common side effects include headache, dizziness, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, stomach pain, itching or a rash, and tiredness. Stop taking it and get urgent medical help if you develop a severe rash, swelling of the face, lips or throat, difficulty breathing, or confusion.

Cold sores are contagious while blisters are present: avoid kissing and sharing towels, cups or lip products, and wash your hands after touching the sore.

Regulatory information

• Legal status: Prescription-only medicine (POM), supplied under a Patient Group Direction after pharmacist assessment
• Pharmacy: Ways Pharmacy, 77 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4ET · GPhC-registered premises 9012227
• Patient information leaflet: electronic Medicines Compendium (emc)
• Report suspected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme

This page gives factual information about a prescription-only medicine and is not an advertisement to the public. It is supplied only after a pharmacist has assessed that it is suitable for you.