Comparative study of serum zinc concentration in recurrent herpes labialis patients and healthy individuals

Abstract Background: Recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) is one of the most common recurrent infective vesiculoulcerative lesions. Topical and systemic administration of Zinc compounds has been found to have preventive and therapeutic effects. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the serum level of zinc in patients with RHL and healthy individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 43 patients with the history of recurrent herpers labialis and 42 healthy subjects with no history of the lesion. Blood samples were taken and serum zinc level was measured. Chi-Square test was used to compare the qualitative relationships and to compare the quantitative relationships independent T-test was used. To observe the relationship of quantitative factors including serum zinc level, the number of relapses and recovery rates correlation test was taken. Results: The results show that serum zinc level has no significant difference in healthy subjects and patients (p> 0.05). Also, zinc level was not related to age and sex factors and frequency of relapse (P> 0.05). But surprisingly in the patients group, there was a significant relationship between zinc level and recovery period. As the serum zinc level was lower, the duration of recovery was significantly higher (p =0.009). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that zinc deficiency is a risk factor for increasing the duration of herpes labialis lesions. Therefore, the evaluation of serum zinc level in subjects with recurrent herpes labialis and subsequent administration of zinc is recommended in such patients.