Cold Sore cure..

little miss

I know this is a common question, but has anyone found something that actually gets rid of them quickly or stop them appearing at all? I blame my boyfriend's stubble for the one's that appeared on my face today!

Stargal

Oh no, cold sores suck I usually try aloe-vera gel, which seems to suck out all of the goo and dries them up really quickly. Otherwise have you tried those clear patches that you put over them? They're meant to speed up the healing plus they cover them as well, so you can put make up over them.

Hope you don't have to suffer it for too long, they're really horrible little yokes.

rannerap

zovirax is good:)

Malteaser!

you could get some vitamin E tablets, ya know the ones that are liquidy on the inside and break them open and just put it directly on it!!

Endurance Man

Lived in the sun for 17 years, these where the bane of my life but once i discovered tea-tree oil i was basking , seriously it works every time for me.

little miss

thanks for all the tips! Yeah, I usually use zovirax but not finding it too effective. Short of not kissing my boyfriend when he's stubbly, I'll try some of your suggestions!

Nightwish

Those clear strips didnt work for me at all. I put perfume on it when I feel the tingle, as the alcohol in it dries it up. Its worked for me so far, as mad as it sounds. I havent had one in over 18 months.

Endurance Man

Zavorix is crap along with all those other cold sore creams, wasted so much money on them.

Gran Hermano

Cooties... Ughhh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Only joking!)

Read somewhere that Zovirax only decreases the duration
of the cold-sore by 2 days but better than nothing.

Take some Vitamin C + Zinc supplements (Rubex or similar)
as it'll help your immune system. These helped lots when I was
in the Nevada desert (killer sun and low humidity is real bad
for lips).

Nytfevr

I only ever had a cold sore once, I tried zovirax but it didn't do anything, asked my pharmacist and she recomended something else, can't remember the name of it but it was over the counter, the way it worked was that it froze off the cold sore. It was gone the next day! Hope you can find it.

artnotort

yeah i've heard the perfume trick works before but it sounds painful.
never had a cold sore myself

Shazbot

Cold sore sufferer myself, I usually use zovirax. It doesn't prevent the virus from growing but simpley speeds up the rate of growth. Usually gone in 7 days.

Unfortunatly if you get coldsores then you have them for life.

sonners

Perfume or mens aftershave works wonders. I've tried Zovirax (dont waste your money), tea-tree, etc. and they were'nt near as good. When I have a coldsore I carry around a little bottle of ck one and dab a bit on 5 or 6 times a day. It should be gone within 4 or 5 days.

Femelade

You can get L- Lycene tablets in the chemist, they are to help get rid of them and prevent them..

Malteaser!

I've never heard of that putting perfume on them before, sounds, um, poisonous!!

purplegeko

I get cold sores a lot and it sucks. But i have discovered the Compeed Plasters you put over them and it heals in half the time, especially if you wear it overnight. It works by keeping the germs out and prventing the spread of the sore. Its expensive 9.99 for 15 patches. When i was small my mother used to dab whiskey on it and it stung like hell.

sam34

try elizabeth arden 8hr cream - dries and shrinks them

Ruthee

see this thread..loadsa advice from another discussion


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...ght=cold+sores

little miss

thank you everyone. Someone suggested nail varnish remover to me today! Ouch!

unreggd

Omg I cant believe no1 has mentioned Lysine, its amazin!

U can get it in health shops and it boosts recovery loads


And if u get coldsores a lot, and take lysine regularly, it can reduce the risk of a cs to close to none

dame

Do not use perfume!!!! Go into the chemist and buy yourself a little bottle of Surgical Spirits. It'll cost you less than two euro. Dab it on with a cotton bud or tissue or whatever and it'll dry it up in a day or two. Use it every time before you put on the Zovirax. Get yourself the L-Lysine tablets too (any health food shop and most chemists) and start taking them. By the way, Zovirax needs to be used on the tingle as that's when it works best and if you do that the coldsore may never appear.

Emerson

Yup, the HPV virus doesn't like lysine certainly.

Also, viruses can't survive in high Vitamin C saturated environments but thrive on sugar. Hence, fruit is not the optimal cure (but far better than white starch - bread etc). Green vegetables pack huge amounts of vitamin c with virtually no sugars.

Products like Zovirax will increase oxidation at the source and kill the virus at the surface, but it will still re-appear. Most western commercial medications treat the symptoms not the cause (lowered immunity in this case). It makes companies money for health issues to be ongoing.

Get that brocolli into ya! I haven't had a cold sore in several years now - touch wood

supersheeps

propolis propolis propolis!!! I find it great, you can get it neat in health shops but it stains your skin a very unsexy yellow brown...then I got a cream with some of it in it, beside the zovirax in the chemists, great stuff altogether!

wheresthebeef

i find aciclovir (zovirax/virulief) to be very effective. if you start lashing it on straight away when you get the tingle, i find that the cold sore doesnt even get a chance to erupt. another thing thats good is Cymex, its active ingredient is urea. It helps to dry up the sore.

rafaelibl

Hi guys,

Do i need a prescription to buy it or can i buy over the counter??


Cheers!!!

Cya!!!!!

sam34

rafaelibl wrote: »

Hi guys,

Do i need a prescription to buy it or can i buy over the counter??


Cheers!!!

Cya!!!!!

if you mean zovirax, you can get that over the counter

rafaelibl

Thankxxxxx man. That's it.

glaston

Valtrex - not sure if doctors usually perscribe it for cold sores (mainly for shingles) but it does the job.

gnxx

Aciclovir will only work before the cold sore is visible. It needs to be used as soon as you feel the coldsore tingle under the skin. It is very good when applied immediately and will stop the cold sore from appearing. It is completely useless once the coldsore is visible; although I suspect it may deter the coldsore from spreading.

The posters ( emerson ) who suggested diet issues etc are pretty much spot on in my view. I've found that they appear when I'm generally run down or eating badly. Cold weather and drinking red wine seems to cause them for me.

Once they are visible I would concur with posters that suggest general ointments such as tea tree oil.

GalwayGunner

Hey guys,

I'm a long time coldsore sufferer so hopefully this might be of some help to you...

I get coldsores quite regularly unfortunately and when I get em they're usually big, obvious and it could be 6 to 7 days before the sore/scab completely disappears. For me they always seems to come in threes and a couple of times I even got them on the tip of my nose!! ;-(

I have done all the research and know that they generally occur when you're rundown or in extreme temperature and I've tried Lysine (which worked for a while) and of course a dozen different Aciclovir creams (which NEVER works).

I did however consult a dermatologist who recommended that I try the tablet form of Zovirax (prescription needed) so what I have been doing is when I feel the coldsore begin to 'tick' I take one Zovirax tablet every 3 hours and avoid using any of the creams at all (I've found rubbing the cream on the sore increases the risk of it becoming infected and subsequently results in scabbing).

I've discovered this either stops it completely from ever breaking out or if it does break out its usually dead and nearly completely invisible within 24 hours.

This isn't a complete solution but 24 hours is definitely a lot better than 6 days ;-)

Hope this helps!

locum-motion

GalwayGunner wrote: »

...I did however consult a dermatologist who recommended that I try the tablet form of Zovirax (prescription needed) so what I have been doing is when I feel the coldsore begin to 'tick' I take one Zovirax tablet every 3 hours ...

Please remember that Zovirax tablets are prescription only as pointed out above.
Please do not post here asking "How do I get those tablets?"
The only way* to get them is to go to your doctor.

*The only legal way, that is!

miss_daisy

GalwayGunner wrote: »

Hey guys,

I'm a long time coldsore sufferer so hopefully this might be of some help to you...

I get coldsores quite regularly unfortunately and when I get em they're usually big, obvious and it could be 6 to 7 days before the sore/scab completely disappears. For me they always seems to come in threes and a couple of times I even got them on the tip of my nose!! ;-(

I have done all the research and know that they generally occur when you're rundown or in extreme temperature and I've tried Lysine (which worked for a while) and of course a dozen different Aciclovir creams (which NEVER works).

I did however consult a dermatologist who recommended that I try the tablet form of Zovirax (prescription needed) so what I have been doing is when I feel the coldsore begin to 'tick' I take one Zovirax tablet every 3 hours and avoid using any of the creams at all (I've found rubbing the cream on the sore increases the risk of it becoming infected and subsequently results in scabbing).

I've discovered this either stops it completely from ever breaking out or if it does break out its usually dead and nearly completely invisible within 24 hours.

This isn't a complete solution but 24 hours is definitely a lot better than 6 days ;-)

Hope this helps!

I think Ive heard of those Zovirax tablets, but arent they on prescription and pretty expensive, ?? Like, €200 expensive per course?

philipb

I get coldsores if I get really run down or sunburnt on my face/lips, so generally happens if I'm away in a hot country and going out a lot.

I find Zovirax actually drags the whole thing out longer as it stops the coldsores from scabbing. It also means you're touching the thing and probably spreading it around unwittingly.

Lysine I find halves the length of the whole thing, and sometimes when you take a load of it as soon as you feel the tingle it never even appears.

Big_G

Zovirax only works before the little vesicles or blisters burst. After that it is only a waste of time. It needs to be applied by a gloved hand or cotton bud.
Don't touch the cold sore directly with your hand.

After the vesicles burst, aciclovir is a waste of time. At this stage, prevention of secondary infection is important. Use savlon skin healing cream or if you can get it on prescription fucidin cream (fusidic acid 2% cream, no hydrocortisone).

In the clinic we occasionally use low dose laser photonic energy for these once the budding phase is over and also for mouth ulcers to induce healing. Works well.

Spring17

A treatment that really works is nail varnish remover; dab some on cotton wool/cotton bud & hold on cold sore for 10 minutes; it stings a lot but you will see a major improvement within an hour! Nothing worked for me like this before & I've tried everything; taking lysine (cold sores still appeared), anti-viral creams on first tingle (I think the moisture brings them out!), stress management, dapping with alcohol; with none of these have I seen an improvement but with the nail varnish remover I did after the first go!

prevention wise I think avoiding dry lips is a big one; every time I get a cold sore its after a bout of dry chapped lips. I hope this works for you too.