Best Cold Sore Medicine Reviews

Cold Sores – What You Should Know About Cold Sores

It’s strange, but the onset of a nasty cold sore always seem to come when you least need them, such as the night before an interview for a new job, or a hot night out with a new date.   Cold Sores are painful and embarrassing in these situations and if left untreated, a cold sore can develop into a blister or full blown herpes, as cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus, so damage limitation measures are needed to prevent further infection.

Cold sores have several names: Perioral ulcer, fever blister and oral herpes simplex. This herpes is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus whose main characteristic is rash of small, painful blisters, usually located in the skin of the lips, oral mucosa, gums or the perioral area. These blisters are commonly called Cold Sores.

What Are Cold Sores?

As we advance previously, labial herpes is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, but usually this is the type 1 virus, according to studies, most of the population is infected contracted this disease at the age of 20 years.

This infection in its initial period, can be asymptomatic or cause only cold sores, the virus is in the nerve tissue of the face and in some cases, reactivating and causing recurrent cold sores that are usually located in the same area but not serious.

The herpes type 2 causes what is known as genital herpes and infection in children during childbirth (from infected mothers), but this virus type 2 can also cause people in various cold sores.

Cold sores are contagious and are transmitted directly or indirectly by contaminated items such as knives, razors, towels, dishes and other items that can be shared. Genital contact, in many cases, can spread oral herpes to the genitals and vice versa, so, people with active herpes lesions on the mouth or genitals should avoid oral sex.

Symptoms Of Cold Sores

The first symptoms of this type of herpes manifest a week or two (at most three) after contact with an infected person, usually, labial herpes lesions remain over seven to ten days and then begin to resolve.

The virus can lie dormant in nerve cells and then rely on the original site or nearby. This recurrence is usually very mild and can be triggered by periods, sun exposure, and illness with fever, stress or other causes.

When you are affected with cold sores it is easy to realize because of the amount of distinctive symptoms that occur: burning sensation, increased sensitivity to the affected area or tingling, etc… These feelings are about two days before the onset of the injury.

When we talk about how this herpes affects the body, especially the mouth area we can say that we could admire skin lesions or rash around the lips, mouth and gums, blisters (vesicles) which mostly contain a yellowish liquid, red blisters (painful raised in a certain area of the skin), when these vesicles are formed break and then drain.

It is also possible to form yellow scabs falling, can see the pink skin appearance indicating that is healing and as a last symptom may have a fever.

Different Cold Sore Stages

Cold sores have many different life cycle stages.

First Sign Stage: This is the tingling, swelling, sore stage of the affected area. You will not see the actual cold sore at this stage.

Blister Stage: Visible fluid filled blisters become noticeable and visible on the 2nd or 3rd day. They are small and form into little clusters.

Weeping Stage: The blisters burst, and leave a red ulcer like sore on the 4th day. It then turns a gray colour on top of the sore. This is when the cold sore hurts the most.

Crusting Stage: The ulcer sore dries out and creates a brown crusty scab on the 6th day. It becomes itchy and sometimes even burns. The scab can crack open and cause bleeding.

Final Healing Stage: The cold sore normally goes away by day 10 to 14. There is no scarring left behind and they disappear completely.

Treatment For Cold Sores

The doctor will make a diagnosis of the injury that occurs in the skin, or on a culture of the same, on physical examination it can be found considerably enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

The cultivation of the virus that causes cold sores or so called Tzanck test of the skin lesion may disclose the presence of another type of herpes as herpes simplex. The symptoms of this disease disappear in a week or two when not using any treatment but can be used several oral antiviral medications that reduce symptoms during and reduce pain.

We must remember that herpes, regardless of type, cannot be cured, if treated. Herpes after its appearance remains dormant in the body for life and can re-use in approximately 6 years.

Doctors recommend washing gently with soap and water blisters (must be antiseptic soap) to reduce the spread of the virus to other parts of the skin and then apply ice or heat to the affected area in order to ease the pain.

No factors that may cause them to present a greater concern for cold sores, but it can become dangerous if it dissipates and is close to the eyes may cause blindness or generalized infections and more complex, which is why you should try this time type virus.

There is no cure for cold sores, nor is there a cure for herpes simplex virus (HSV stands for) that cause. Most cold sores will go away on their own. However, the drugs may slightly reduce the duration of cold sores and sometimes prevent an outbreak in the future.

Drug treatment depends on whether you are taking the first outbreak or a recurrent outbreak, or if you are trying to prevent future outbreaks.

In addressing the first outbreak of cold sores, oral antiviral medications may reduce pain and improve healing time slightly.

For the treatment of recurrent cold sores, the following drugs may reduce the severity and duration of the outbreak:

The topical creams or ointments, which are available with or without a prescription, can reduce pain, itching and healing time.

Oral antiviral drugs, which are only available by prescription, may be used when the first symptoms (such as burning or itching). These drugs have little effect after herpes develops.

Oral antiviral could also be taken daily to prevent recurring cold sores, especially in people who have frequent and painful outbreaks.

If you have a weakened immune system and develop cold sores, you may need higher doses of these drugs to control their symptoms or daily doses to prevent outbreaks.

Although rare, children and adults with a weakened immune system may also need to take antibiotics for severe episodes of cold sores, to treat bacterial infections that may develop.

Other Treatments

The first episode of cold sores can be so painful that you may have difficulty eating, drinking and sleeping. A child who has a fever and many mouth sores may need to be advised to drink water and other fluids to prevent dehydration.

Adults and older children who have a painful first episode of cold sores, sometimes, may need a medicated mouthwash prescribed concentration in order to reduce pain.

Complementary Medicines

There is no proven efficacy of complementary medicines for the treatment or prevention of cold sores. However, several treatments are available if you want to try a complementary alternative way to relieve your symptoms.

Vitamin C, lysine supplements, and lemon balm are examples of complementary treatments that could provide some relief during an outbreak of cold sores.

It is possible that the topical cream zinc oxide reduces the duration of an outbreak.

How To Get Rid Of Cold Sores Fast Treatment

Here is what you can do as a home cold sore treatment to prevent a prolonged cold sore problem:

Try and discover the cause of the infection, which is the best remedy, then be wary in the future.

Discard your toothbrush and keep the new one in a dry place, not the bathroom, as moisture keeps the herpes virus alive and a blister can develop.

Do not lick the cold sore or touch it and keep it as clean and dry as possible.

Relieve the discomfort and pain with an analgesic.

An ice pack will also help, as the herpes virus does not like the cold.

Tannic acid in tea has antiviral properties, so you can press a wet tea bag on the cold sore every few minutes.

Keep your hands clean and wash them often, avoiding contact with your eyes and genitals to stop the cold sore infection turning into blisters or genital herpes.

While outdoors, cover your lips to prevent exposure to the wind and sun.

Avoid eating peanuts and cashew nuts, chocolate, grain cereals and peas, avoid drinking cola and beers and don’t eat acidic foods like lemons or grapefruit.

The drug store or health food store will sell you Zinc gluconate which should help.

If you really need to accelerate a cure and get rid of cold sores overnight, there is such a cure but it will mean spending money.

Cold Sore Treatment On Face

Dealing with a cold sore on the face isn’t fun for anyone, and it can lead to embarrassing moments where you try to cover your cold sore so that people don’t see it, only to look even more ridiculous by holding props up to your face all day. However, you can do some things to conceal your problem, as well as take measures to reduce the duration of your cold sores.

It’s not always possible to hide a cold sore on the face, but there are some ways that you can do it with a bit of success. The first thing you will want to do is use a cold sore lip balm or petroleum jelly on the cold sore. You can use a cotton ball or cotton swab to apply it. Once you cover the cold sore on your face, you can then use a liquid foundation that is similar to your skin colour.

Again, you will use a cotton swab and get a new one for each dab; otherwise, you run the risk of contaminating the foundation. You can use this to cover the area.

This should help to conceal the cold sore while it heals. It is a much better and more natural option than finding things to hold over your face or lips throughout the day!

How To deal with Cold Sore On The Face?

Of course, it is more than just the embarrassment of having an unsightly cold sore. A cold sore on the face can be quite painful too. When you want to relieve the pain and symptoms of the cold sore on your face, you can use an over the counter medication such as Abreva or Docosanol. They will help with the symptoms, but keep in mind that they aren’t going to cure you of the problem.

There is currently no cure for cold sores, which are the herpes virus. Because there is no cure, it means that you might have a recurrence of the cold sores after the primary outbreak. In fact, you could have several outbreaks throughout the year, and this is why it is so important to find ways of dealing with cold sores on the face. You want to be able to handle them when they do occur.

You will find that the over the counter medications and the prescription meds that a doctor might give you will help with some of the pain, and they can reduce the duration that you have your cold sore.

When you first start to feel the cold sore appear, you can start to ice the area. This can help to reduce the size the cold sore becomes. It can also help to shorten the life of the cold sore. Another option that some people use is to apply Vick’s rub to the area with a cotton swab. They believe that it can reduce the size and duration, just as icing the area can do.

Ice As A Cold Sore Treatment

Having a cold sore outbreak can really get you down; it is embarrassing and usually occurs on an important day. It is irritatingly itchy, painful, unsightly, and will last at least one to two weeks.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for the HSV virus that causes cold sore or fever blister outbreaks. But there are a number of remedies can be used to prevent an outbreak or reduce the length of the episode. Using the right vitamins and supplements can prevent an outbreak entirely or stop it in its tracks at the first sign of trouble.

Other options include remedies that can sooth the pain, reduce the area affected, and speed up the healing process, cutting short the duration of the visible sore.

One of the most common remedies, and possibly the cheapest, is treating cold sores and fever blisters with ice.

The Amazing Effects Of Ice

“Why not use ice as a cold sore treatment? Many sufferers testify to the amazing effects on their outbreaks.” Sometimes, ice can even stop the virus from turning into a full-blown occurrence.

To accomplish this, you need to take action immediately. At the first sign of an oncoming outbreak, when that tingling or itching sensation occurs, apply ice.

Using ice as a cold sore treatment involves putting an ice cube on the area affected and holding it there for a several minutes. Take it off only if it gets too painful.

Apply an ice cube for about 10-15 minutes every hour or more. Doing this in the early stages of an outbreak reduces the HSV virus’ metabolism, discourages its reproduction and can eventually push the virus back into hibernation.

In the event that the cold sore continues to develop, continue using ice as a cold sore treatment on the infected area to help ease the pain and to stop further swelling. This will speed up the time of recovery. “Ice really works!”

Other Ice Treatments

If using ice as a cold sore treatment does not produce the remarkable effects for which you hoped, try combining ice with other medium. Frozen tea bags may be used to inhibit the growth of cold sores. This treatment provides the soothing effects of ice and increases the potential of suppressing the cold sore virus.

Tea contains natural anti-viral properties that can be used as an organic remedy for cold sores or fever blisters. Many sufferers find success by first using ice as a cold sore treatment and then applying rubbing alcohol to the sore. This dries out the sore and keeps the area sterile.

Using ice as a cold sore treatment alone or in combination with other products is fairly effective in stopping a full-blown outbreak. However the results may vary from one person to another and even from one episode to another.

Using ice as a cold sore treatment is still treating an outbreak. A more effective solution would be to stop the outbreak before it starts, by using a combination of vitamins and supplements.

Cold Sores During Pregnancy – Discover Heart Felt Advice

Those people who don’t suffer from cold sores may never think about the horror of having an outbreak; but for those who do suffer, especially suffering from cold sores during pregnancy, could have a serious problem if not handled properly.

A person infected with the herpes simplex virus 1 may feel like they are the only one in the world that has this problem. Statistics say that 90% of the inhabitants of this world have the HSV-1 virus, but only a small percentage compared to the 90% suffer from outbreaks.

In this article, we will give helpful tips on what to do when you have a cold sore during pregnancy.

1. Some doctors recommend using Abreva while pregnant. This is FDA approved and it will not harm you or your unborn child.

2. Obstetrician’s, (a physician who specializes in pregnancy) recommends Valtrex when you have a cold sore during your pregnancy. Valtrex is safe to use when pregnant and also when breast feeding.

Valtrex will not hurt a foetus or infant in any way. It is recommended that you take 2g of Valtrex 2 times a day for one day. The best time to take it is when you get the tingling feeling or at the beginning stage of a cold sore. You should consult your doctor before doing so.

3. Here is a good natural remedy that you can use if you get cold sores during pregnancy. Mix sea salt and warm water together and apply it to the cold sore. You will need to use a Q-tip or put a plastic glove on to avoid touching the sore with your bear hands.

If you touch an infected cold sore you will need to thoroughly clean your hands with anti-bacterial hand soap. You can easily find some good soap at Walgreens or Wal-Mart.

Keep applying the salt method throughout the day. This will dry the cold sore out and the faster it dries out the faster it will heal.

4. Do not use L-lysine if you get a cold sore during your pregnancy unless your doctor says it’s ok. L-lysine is good to use if you are not pregnant, but it has been labelled as a class C drug by the FDA. This does’t necessarily means that it is unsafe to use when pregnant but you need to consult your doctor before doing so.

L-lysine has been tested on animals and studies show that it affects animals in a harmful way, but nothing has been tested on human and we can’t say if it’s ok to use or not when pregnant.

These are just a few tips to help those who are suffering from cold sores during pregnancy. Be sure to consult your doctor when using these tips to make sure everything is safe. Take these tips to the doctor and see what he/she says about them. Good luck!!