Does anyone know how to get rid of cold sores? I have never had a cold sore in my life until

this summer when I started on my new life change, and changed the way I eat. I get cankor sores in my mouth, but these are sores that are on just my lips, and start out looking kinda like pimples but tingle, and are much more painful. These get crusty and kinda weepy, then after that get smaller and kinda purple and usually dry up and go away for awhile.

Except this last one, just won't go away. Before, I just stepped up, my lip balm to blistex oint. and it worked. Then when this came along and the oint. didn't work, I stepped it up to medex (blistex brand in a little jar), which makes my lips feel better but its been over a wk (or so) & there not any better.  I need your help. 

Lori3522

Add a daily supplement of L-Lysine, at least 500 mg.  It is an amino acid that works on the virus that causes the sores and prevents them from recurring.  (can be found at any grocery or drug store) When you first start to feel the "tingling", double up on your dosage and that will help curb the outbreak.  good luck!

Ive never had one but my friend used to get htm all the time.. she started eating a bell pepper raw and it seemed to help..maybe a vitamin c thing.  she says it works It doesnt totally prevent them but helps them go away faster and are cheaper than the meds.

I like the idea of adding certain foods to my diet, but I hate to tell you that I've been eating raw sweet green bell peppers for about a month.  I also eat about a cucumber a day, several small apples, raw carrots throughout the week and I have cut out almost all non processed tomatoes starting the other day because the acid, it just hurts too much. 

Now, since the fresh melons & berries are out of season, I pretty much eat can or frozen fruit besides the apples, but I cut out pineapple, a while back because of its acid content. I also take a daily vitamin & an extra vit. B pill (for energy).

Oh! My dad told me to eat more lettuce, but the problem with that is I can't eat it without that dreaded DRESSING which as we all know adds on the calories, what is a good substitute? Thanks for your replies so far.

Lori3522

I use Abreva if I get a cold sore; it takes care of them pretty quickly!

Take several doses of of L-lysine to curb the outbreak and take it daily to prevent them in the future, it really works.

Call your doctor if you can.  Be really careful, because if it's herpes you can spread it, to other parts of your body and to your partner.  I get them 2 x a year and when I change my diet, I also get them.  I have to take a perscription medication.  I have two, a lip ointment and a pill.  The pill wipes me out because it is so stong.

Oh and toss out any lip balm or lipstick you have used while you had them.  You can get reinfected by it. 

Abreva works great.  Keeps it from spreading and breaking open and helps with the pain.  Best thing I have found without a prescription.  Expensive though, but worth it.  I am just getting over one now.

If it's tingling before, then it is almost certainly a cold sore which is herpes simplex 1.  Apparently 90%+ of the population has it or has been exposed to it but may not be aware of it due to a lack of visible outbreaks.  You could have gotten it from any number of things, including another person (kissing, sharing a drink, shaking hands, etc.), if you've ever had chicken pox, apparently you may have been carrying the virus and never had an outbreak

Edit:****chicken pox can indeed stay in your system (in nerves) but it reactivates as shingles in adults, rather than cold sores.

Cold sores and shingles/chicken pox are in the same virus family (Herpes) but are entirely different viruses so are unrelated. In other words people who have had chicken pox might never get cold sores and those with cold sores may never have had chicken pox. They are unrelated "diseases".

As you said, Herpes Simplex I causes cold sores (sometimes HSV II also which is generally the genital virus), whereas Herpes Varicella/Zoster causes chicken pox/shingles.**** (info from NYCgirl - ty)

...all things I found out when I had one a few months ago.  There is a test that can be done to find out for sure if it is a cold sore.

From what I've read online, L-Lysine and vitamin C are the best ways to help them heal quickly...don't pick at it as it may cause scaring.  If you currently have one, definitely take L-Lysine and vitamin C, do a google search to find out how much (I think it was 3,000mg L-Lysine and a lot of Vit. C.) per day.  This is supposed to reduce the outbreak time.  For times when you don't have one, apparently 500mg of L-Lysine will help prevent another outbreak, also keep your face out of the sun. Although, hormones, stress, skin irritation, and sleep also factor in.

Make sure you don't use anything that's touched the cold sore anywhere else since they can spread to other parts of your body. 

Hi! I usually put "Abreva" and you can find at any drugstore.

i used to get a lot of bad cold sores and then i started using Carmex (5 dollars or £2.50 for a normal lipbalm sized pot) and i haven't had one since. i've tried a lot of cold sore creams, including ones from the doctor, some expensive, and none have worked as consistently as carmex. you can get it at any drugstore or boots in england and it's cheap. stay away from lipbalms that contain a high percentage of petroleum like Vaseline as these make a cold sore worse.

My doctor was so surprised that i hadn't had anymore that she now recommends carmex.

 

x

Original Post by skinnyogi:

I use Abreva if I get a cold sore; it takes care of them pretty quickly!

That's what I was going to suggest.  I've never used it personally, but I hear it works wonders.

Ewwwww, herpes!  *runs away screaming*

Go to the doctor and get a antiviral prescription to aid in getting rid of it.  I was prescribed Valtrex and Zovarex as an oinment.  Within two days it is significantly gone down.

Good luck and the Abreva is just as much as the Zovarex for me with a prescription card.

 

Just would like everyone to know that someone e-mailed me a tip: to use tea tree oil but it would sting, but it would help.  I happened to have some in the house (leftover from making homemade soap awhile back), and started using it yesterday and today the cold sore that I couldn't get rid of is showing signs of drying up and is the tiniest bit smaller.  I also started taking extra Vit. C @ noon & plan on using your other suggestions as needed.  THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!!!

I used to get them constantly, now usually once a year, when overly stressed or sick.

When I first feel it coming on(that tingly feeling) I stick a q-tip in a bit of vodka and dab it on! the alcohal dries up the spot, and kind of halts it in it's tracks. Also, as lori3522 said, tea tree oil can work well in the beginning also.

Best of all is Zovirax! Get it from your doc, and if you can't, get some abreva if you can't catch it from coming out.

Good luck!

Abreva is the best for cold sores!!! I only get them once every 2 years or so. The first cold sore I got started with a sunburn -- I didn't have sunblock on my lips. It took literally months for it to heal. Now once every 2 years or so I get one, and I use Abreva immediately and it goes away before it becomes a full on cold sore.

I think abreva is best before it gets really bad, before you have a full blown cold sore. But it definitely helps them to go away more quickly. And usually the cold sore will go back in the same place so next time you feel one coming on, just slap some abreva on there about 3x per day and it will be gone before it really starts! If you have a tingling feeling that is probably the start of the cold sore.

Good luck. Cold sores really really suck. Abreva is worth the money - I promise.

Amy

loads of advice on here but unfortunately most of it misleading.

If it is a cold sore (which it sounds like) it is herpes no if or buts>

The good news (if you can call it that) is it can not spread to another part of your body. You can only get herpes of the mouth OR eyes OR genitals, as your body builds an immunity to the virus and stops it attacking other parts of your body. You can however pass it to someone else and it can affect a different area of their body, therefore whilst you have the bilsters be very careful not to kiss, touch or share with other people.

You can treat the blisters with cream etc, but you cannot get rid of cold sores/herpes virus, it is with you for life. Occassionally you will have an outbreak when you are run down, stressed or make changes to life style, this could mean once a year or once a decade, but you will not have blisters permantely. You may have had the virus in your body for as much as 5 years before it shows though you may have only just caught it.

Hope this helps even though im the beerer of bad news

'lysine+' cold sore treatment cream

or

teatree oil mixed with olive oil
 

Hi everybody!  I'm dropping into this discussion late, but I wanted to mention a couple of hopeful things to lori3522 and anyone else suffering from the cold sores (it affects a huge percentage of the population).  chelseagirl's right -- if this is indeed a viral herpes, this is worth reading up on because you may be able to completely or nearly completely alleviate your symptoms with the right treatment.  Over the counter topicals can relieve only the sensations and maybe heal a little, but perscription-grade treatments (see your doc!) like Zovirax work extremely well.  At the first tingle you can apply some regularly and you may not even get a full-blown sore. 

Next -- stress & the sun definitely can trigger outbreaks, so even though you can't avoid it all the time, you at least have another strong motivator to get your beauty sleep and 'me' time & wear your sunscreen .

Lastly -- apparently, your body does learn to fight the infection over time, I've read, so they tend to diminish in frequency and severity.  I flipped out when I got one of these things 10 years ago, but I think I've had maybe 2 since, and they were nearly invisible and gone in a day.  Maybe you'll be lucky!

Some good info here:

 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-sore/DS 00358/DSECTION=1

I found this thread a little late, sorry but I thought I would throw my experience in. I have been getting cold sores since I was ten years old. Many things will trigger an outbreak-sun, chapped lips, illness and I even get them sometimes when I get my period. The only way I can control them is with Valtrex and Denivir cream. I take the Valtrex around that time of the month (I try to remember to take it every month) and it seems to keep them away for the most part. If I do happen to get one, I put the Denivir cream on it right away and it stays small and heals quickly. They were really the worst thing, hurt like crazy and I kept getting them over and over. But taking the prescription keeps them under control.

Stress can definitely bring on cold sores. Back when I suffered under an irrational bitchboss, I would get so mad, and not be able to show it, and would immediately feel a tingle on my lip and that night - cold sore.

If you are prone to them, throw out lip balm sticks, and only use the kind in pots that you apply with your finger - make sure you wash your hands first.