Cold sore

[Mum-2-4]

Hi all

For the past 20yrs I have suffered with cold sores every few months, mostly triggered by the sun/cold.
I have tried every product you could buy over the counter, costing a small fortune. The only thing that seems to help are aciclovir tablets, which are prescription only.
I had shingles last November, for which I was prescribed aciclovir tablets, thankfully I had some tablets left as I have had to start taking them yesterday after developing another huge cold sore. I can't get a repeat prescription without seeing the Dr, & there are no appointments til next Monday.
In the meantime, has anyone any advice/tried & tested remedies for the dreaded cold sores?

[Toothsmith]

Have you tried the pencyclovir based creams?

It was prescription only (A cream called Vectavir) until recently. It is now available over-the-counter as Fenestril.

Patients who I've prescribed it for are generally impressed with it.

Much better than Zovirax, which is good if you catch the 'tingle' but not much use if you don't.

Vectavir/Fenestril is still best at the tingly stage, but still pretty effective if you miss it.

[Mum-2-4]

Thanks for your reply Toothsmith, no I haven't used that cream, I have tried things from the health food shop, lemon juice (aaarrrhhhh), soothelip. compeed, zovirax etc etc none of which have worked.
I'll give the cream ago, thanks for the info.

[savingsara]

Hi there,
now I haven't tried Neem 40 Blitz Stick on cold sore myself but I understand it's excellent.
At around £3 it's worth a try and can be used for other problems as well.
HTH

[steve6375]

This has worked for me several times.

Make a cup of tea with a strong tea bag. Leave the tea bag on the drainer and drink the tea. Then sit down and watch TV for an hour with the luke warm tea bag pressed onto the cold sore.

This worked on me and I was utterly amazed. The last time I had a really nasty cold sore (big red sore lump). The next morning it had completely vanished.

I have a degree in microbiology but don' ask me how this works - all I know is it worked for me (twice),

good luck

Steve

[savingsara]

This has worked for me several times.

Make a cup of tea with a strong tea bag. Leave the tea bag on the drainer and drink the tea. Then sit down and watch TV for an hour with the luke warm tea bag pressed onto the cold sore.

This worked on me and I was utterly amazed. The last time I had a really nasty cold sore (big red sore lump). The next morning it had completely vanished.

I have a degree in microbiology but don' ask me how this works - all I know is it worked for me (twice),

good luck

Steve

Hi Steve,

I believe it's something called tannic acid which is in the teabags that does the trick. :cool:

[desperate mum]

I too suffer with the dreaded lurgy .... i have tried all the creams etc and what works best for me is " BOOTS Dual action cold sore lotion " ( not creams ..) in my mind creams spread the virus . Not all BOOTS sell it but the bigger ones do so I buy in bulk and soon as I get a faint tingle a dab it on every 10 mins or so ..and touch wood it works for me ...

[Triker]

Hi, I heard a long time ago that the white pith of a lemon contains the ingredient that stops cold sores, not the yellow stingy bit. If you rub the pith on the sore this should help.


Also the fact that you also get cold sores a lot and you got have had shingles indicates that you are susceptable to this virus.

Are you stressed? Do you have a stressful job? I only ask as many years ago when I was so stressed my hair started falling out I too, had the numerous cold sores and eventually got shingles.It was awful, I fully sympathise.

My friend who was a naturapth said that this was a indicator that something had to change in my lifestyle because I was putting my body under too much duress and the cold sores and the shingles (and chest infections) were all evidence of this.

It took me ages but I eventually sorted myself out, diet wise and by taking zinc and magnesium tablets from the health food shop. Good luck XX

[ailuro2]

L-Lysine works for me- available from health food shops and Holland and Barrett. I found this out after I got a massive cold sore on the side of my nose just before a big wedding last year.:eek:

Have tried zovirax which worked a few times but seems ineffective now.:confused:
Putting ICE pack on it to keep it cool and stop it spreading up the nerve is meant to help.
The tea bag thing too, but it didn't seem to help me.

[skye]

A lady at work advised that liquorice (sp?) balm works as a preventive for her daughter - not sure whee you would buy any though.

[burbulady]

I'm a great fan of the power of the mind, so when I read that the dormant coldsore virus "lives" at the back of your central nervous system, I came up with a visualisation to fight break-outs.

I imagine the virus is a horrible little monster trapped in a locked room; at the end of a long corridor - which leads to the "door" that is my skin. If/when I feel the odd tingly sensation that means the monster has escaped his cell (and is attempting to break through the 2nd door), then I imagine an invisible force, jamming the (skin)door tightly shut....and pushing the monster back down the corridor.....only to lock it back in its room again!

It may sound a bit hippy, and I have no empirical evidence; bar the lack of coldsores or possession of ointments etc, but I promise faithfully that the ONLY 3 eruptions in the last 12+ years came up whilst I was asleep!! Even then, they healed much quicker and didn't manifest as fully as had I not visualised.

Please coldsore sufferers, try it for yourselves - and believe it! Adapt your imagery to your taste, and hopefully you'll need never purchase expensive anti-coldsore creams again. Herpy Birthday to YOU!

B.x

PS Just to emphasise my point; twice I've been in ICU following possible fatalitities (severe head injuries & 13 years later, meningitis), and twice I've fought back from the brink - with no long term loss in my quality of life!

[kitekat]

hi ive heard pure tea tree oil is meant to be good for cold sores.

[AbbieCadabra]

another vote for Lysine from me - 1 a day normally & 3 times a day when i get the shingle like pain in my face that happens before an outbreak. it's really lessened the cold sore & they seem to heal quicker too.

i think Lysine is an amino acid & it breaks down the 'chain' of the virus. you'll find conflicting info on the net but i've definitely noticed an improvement.

i took 3 months of prescription anti-viral previously & can't say it had any noticeable effect.

i also use a lip balm that has got lysine & aloe vera in it.

[iofox]

Hello,
Does anyone else get cold sores on their nose or face? I really suffer when I get run down, it seems to pop up every 6 months & lasts for about 2 weeks. I never get them around my mouth, but always on my nose. I've never met anyone else who gets this & the doctors are puzzled!
Thanks, Io x

[Mrs P Pincher]

A homeopathic remedy called Nat Mur (get it from Boots) + dabbing with hydrogen peroxide if it bleeds works for me.

Mrs P P

[Lobell]

I'm a great fan of the power of the mind, so when I read that the dormant coldsore virus "lives" at the back of your central nervous system, I came up with a visualisation to fight break-outs.

I imagine the virus is a horrible little monster trapped in a locked room; at the end of a long corridor - which leads to the "door" that is my skin. If/when I feel the odd tingly sensation that means the monster has escaped his cell (and is attempting to break through the 2nd door), then I imagine an invisible force, jamming the (skin)door tightly shut....and pushing the monster back down the corridor.....only to lock it back in its room again!

It may sound a bit hippy, and I have no empirical evidence; bar the lack of coldsores or possession of ointments etc, but I promise faithfully that the ONLY 3 eruptions in the last 12+ years came up whilst I was asleep!! Even then, they healed much quicker and didn't manifest as fully as had I not visualised.

Please coldsore sufferers, try it for yourselves - and believe it! Adapt your imagery to your taste, and hopefully you'll need never purchase expensive anti-coldsore creams again. Herpy Birthday to YOU!

B.x

PS Just to emphasise my point; twice I've been in ICU following possible fatalitities (severe head injuries & 13 years later, meningitis), and twice I've fought back from the brink - with no long term loss in my quality of life!

I suffer from an exceedingly rare mutation of the herpes virus. Left untreated it could, at best, blind me (it mostly manifests around my eyes) and, at worst, kill me (thankfully fatalaties are rare, but have been known)...I think I'll stick to the tried and tested methods, thanks. Good luck to anyone else who thinks they can 'cure' their coldsores in this way, though.

To the OP, L-Lysine is excellent for preventing coldsore outbreaks, in my experience. I use an aciclovir cream (Tesco own brand - every bit as effective as Zovirax etc) at the first sign of one developing and can generally stop them in their tracks. I have to keep a supply of aciclovir tablets too (and I'm supposed to take them at every appearance of a coldsore) but I can't remember the last time I needed them (I hate taking them - dreadful side effects) and it's been over 10 years since I needed a hospital admission for an outbreak so it definitely works for me!

[mouthscradle]

Hi :)

Just thought I would post a link to another cold sore topic which I found useful and also mentions L-Lysine, and have a read of my post on there which also mentions the Boots Electronic Cold Sore Treatment device. I am still having great results with it :)

Topic is here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=514354

[ailuro2]

Hello,
Does anyone else get cold sores on their nose or face? I really suffer when I get run down, it seems to pop up every 6 months & lasts for about 2 weeks. I never get them around my mouth, but always on my nose. I've never met anyone else who gets this & the doctors are puzzled!
Thanks, Io x

I do - around the nostril area, both inside and out - they are horrendous, make my nose swell up too.

Over the years (only got the first one in my mid twenties) I've tried lots, but found that L-Lysine as mentioned above is the only thing to lessen the length of time it is there for.

Sometimes they appear in the middle of the area between my lip and my nose (is it called 'frenum'?) and a compeed coldsore patch has been effective in stopping it from swelling and bubbling.