Cold Sore Remedies

AbbieCadabra

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I tend to rip the top off it, soak up the goop on a cotton pad, then dab it with the Cold Sore Lotion from Boots, or a dab of vodka, but apparently I'm mad and masochistic for this

HBS x

be really careful doing this, once the 'goop' is exposed, it can spread to others areas very easily.

i've had coldsores since i was a kid, tried all the creams with aciclovir in them & they're all pretty much the same on me. they do work, but it will take a good 7-10 days for it to be not noticeable.

i've actually got one of the blighters come up overnight, mine never appear in the day so i can't ever grab them at 1st tingle! damn sunshine but i have been pretty stressed for the last 4 weeks, so no great surprise that one has appeared. it's not even on my lip, it's above my lip & just under my nose, this will be the 3rd one in this spot over the last 4 months or so.

i'll be alternating through the day with cream, my red light gizmo from lloyds & taking a high dose of lysine, typical that we've got a night out tonight

p-pincher

Cheers for the lysine tip, i've never heard of it before.

I've suffered with the little !!!!!!s all my life. None of the ointments or creams seem to really work on me, i think that constantly putting stuff on it seems to keep it 'wet' when really it needs to dry out. Ive never been able to get rid of one quickly.

Last time I had one I started taking ibuprofen straight away and it really helped with the pain and took the swelling down quite a lot.

bridgend_girl

There is an acocyclavir tablet available on prescription from GP which is so much better than topical creams. Together with compeed patches they can do wonders if caught at tingle stage.

heartbreak_star

AbbieCadabra wrote: »

be really careful doing this, once the 'goop' is exposed, it can spread to others areas very easily.

Yup, am super careful about that

HBS x

maddiemay

I suffered with the little bleepers from about 10 years of age until my mid 50's:eek:. A poor immune system meant that I rarely had a winter, or summer without one at least.

I firstly discovered Lysine and took it regularly (can't remember the detail now) and then bought one of the red light devices, the light prevents another sore errupting from the same place, so gradually all the sore sites get treated. I got my first CS last winter for at least 5 years, so got to work with the light again.

Callie22

How much are the red light devices and how do you use them? I get terrible cold sores and find that even the creams tend to take well over a week to work with me. A device that gets rid of them more quickly sounds like heaven, as I can pretty much guarantee that when I really don't want one, one will pop up!

maddiemay

Callie22 wrote: »

How much are the red light devices and how do you use them? I get terrible cold sores and find that even the creams tend to take well over a week to work with me. A device that gets rid of them more quickly sounds like heaven, as I can pretty much guarantee that when I really don't want one, one will pop up!

When I bought mine a few years ago I think it was about £38, it is now http://www.healthandcare.co.uk/cold-sores/biostick-light-therapy-coldsore-treatment.html

Boots also do them http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Avert-Electronic-Cold-Sore-Machine_1129542/ and it gets very good reviews.

I would not hesitate to buy one again, it has done away with weeks and weeks of misery for me each year. At the time of buying I was not very well off, but soon realised that it was money well spent for me. If it is properly sanitised it can be used by other family members too.

AbbieCadabra

well, to my amazement, my 3 pronged attack seems to have had a real effect & my little visitor has hardly even blistered properly. i even managed to successfully cover it with make up last night, which i can normally only manage from about the 4th day onwards.

really must get into the habit of taking lysine again, not had a cold sore for so long until these recent ones, i sort of forgot about it, doh! it definitely helps me during one though, i think it breaks down the virus & means it can't replicate as effectively (sure i read that somewhere).

it's definitely in the healing stage after just one day as my usual neuralgia type pain on one side of my face & eye has gone.

lloyds don't seem to do the red light gizmo i have any more, bit of a shame as i'm sure it was less than £20 (just checked, £17.49 July 2011). surprised they don't have anything like it as it got very good reviews. don't know if there's any on ebay perhaps? (lloyds pharmacy ColdSoreClear advance is it's full name).

just had a look at lloyds again, they don't have the cold sore version of the red light, but they do have this & this(lights spread over a bigger area, so perhaps not ideal for a cold sore?). i'd hazard a guess it's exactly the same light therapy, this is the info for the specific cold sore one i have to compare info.

AbbieCadabra

i do have a few health issues at the moment, evidently, as i have yet another cold sore! even though i started my daily lysine supplement after the last one, this will be the 4th one in 5 months. this one is actually on my upper lip & not the surrounding skin. i'm following my lysine/cream/light therapy again & it seems to be similar to the last one where it has only blistered slightly & the swelling is already reduced after only 1 day. at least with it being on my lip, it's not quite so noticeable...

did find this info which i found useful & i've just ordered some melissa/lemon balm tincture for future battles.
http://www.traditionaloven.com/tutorials/health/cold_sore_virus_prevention.html

maddiemay

AbbieCadabra wrote: »

i do have a few health issues at the moment, evidently, as i have yet another cold sore! even though i started my daily lysine supplement after the last one, this will be the 4th one in 5 months. this one is actually on my upper lip & not the surrounding skin. i'm following my lysine/cream/light therapy again & it seems to be similar to the last one where it has only blistered slightly & the swelling is already reduced after only 1 day. at least with it being on my lip, it's not quite so noticeable...

did find this info which i found useful & i've just ordered some melissa/lemon balm tincture for future battles.
http://www.traditionaloven.com/tutorials/health/cold_sore_virus_prevention.html

Not sure if this has been mentioned, forgive me for not reading back, but sunlight activates them on me, I try and keep a lip balm (stick) with a high spf in my bag/pocket if I am out walking/cycling/gardening etc.