What is the best treatment for cold sores?!


Question: What is the best treatment for cold sores.?
I'm so sick of them and my family and I are always debating over what the best treatments are. What do you do about them.? Health Question & Answer


Answers:
Dear cj_green_day,

It all depends on how often you are getting the cold sores and how severe they are. Your first few outbreaks are usually the worse. Then you slowly will get fewer outbreaks and they will be shorter in duration. However, you will never clear the virus. It lives in your nerves and comes out when you get too much sun or some other stressor. Thus, you should try to avoid any triggers that bring on the outbreak. also, if you are having an outbreak every month you can be put on suppressive therapy. Suppressive therapy is taking one of the anti-viral medications usually once to twice a day. These include acyclovir, zaltrex, etc... They do not have many side effects. Again this will not cure you. It will just spread out your outbreaks and make them less severe. also, you can try taking these medications as needed instead of everyday. This strategy will not work as well. When you get the first tingle of an outbreak you start with a several day course. If you wait too long nothing really works on treating a full-blown outbreak. You have to try and start treatment as early as possible. Lastly, you can try a variety of topicals or ice to numb the pain. These are not proven to work but some people feel that they work for them.

Remember you are still contagious even if you don't have an outbreak. Of course you are more contagious if you have a big cold sore on your lip.Health Question & Answer

For cold sores, I use Prevention Mouth Rinse. It has zinc and hydrogen peroxide, which kills the bacteria and dries it out. It works fast to get rid of the sores you have and prevents future breakouts.

Stress, hormones and sun exposure can sometimes trigger cold sores. The virus never goes away, unfortunately, but you can treat the breakouts with either prescribed medication or over-the-counter products.Health Question & Answer

Hey

I just got 2 coldsores in the last 2 weeks! Yucky.

I got a prescription for Famvir, you take 3 a day...I am yet to try it out but the doctor recommended it.

When i first get a coldsore (I almost never feel the tingling stage, all of a sudden its just like BAM) I get a sewing needle and I pop it. I know its really gross, but I'd rather be grossed out than look gross.

Then i boil the kettle, and I get an old face towel and pour the boiling hot water on the corner of the towel - I wait about 3 seconds and then I press it on the coldsore - it hurts! But its killing germs. Repeat for all 4 corners of the towel, but make sure it burns a little because a semi-warm towel will do nothing.

After popping it and toweling it, I get a cotton swab and some nail polish remover. Dip the swab into the nail polish remover and press onto coldsore. This REALLY stings, but it dries up the remainder of whatever is inside the coldsore.

Do this about 3 times in the 1 go.

After all this action, I get a coldsore cream (Betadine coldsore ointment - from the drugstore - $16) or you can use a no-brand coldsore cream and just put it on top to heal the sore a little. They don't work in killing the virus BUT it keeps them moist..


Do the towel, nail polish and coldsore cream thing 4 times a day and your coldsore should improve ALOT in 1-2 days.Health Question & Answer

since its a virus you can never get rid of it. but the ointment abreva helps the healing process immensely. i have cold sores too, and abreva really helps me. so does zovirax. you just have to apply it like 4 times a day but it does help. and if you feel a cold sore coming on, put on the ointment right away so it won't last that longHealth Question & Answer

Gargling with salt water and using ora-gel.
i think you can buy it at walgreens, it really works well.Health Question & Answer

ice when they first show up. as long at one sitting as you can stand-and do it until the heat is completely gone!
btw my kids are 18 & 22 and I have them, but not my kids!Health Question & Answer

carmax. it stinks and it tastes terrible but they clear up in about 48 hoursHealth Question & Answer



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