Cure Cold Sores With Care

There is no cure for the herpes virus, but you can treat the symptoms. Care starts with keeping the sore clean and making sure that it doesn't spread. You can use prescription or over-the-counter medications to shorten the duration of an outbreak – or even prevent the sore from materializing, if you're quick enough. If you're short on cash or feeling adventurous, try using home remedies to further fight the spread of the virus.

Steps

Avoiding Contamination

1. Keep your hands off the sore. Cold sores are extremely contagious, and touching it can spread the bacteria – or even contaminate the sore itself. Exercise self-discipline, and resist touching the sore. Even the slightest touch can lead to a bacterial infection, and that’s the last thing you need.
   • Touching your sore and then accidentally rubbing your eye (or somewhere else on your body) could cause the virus to spread. Cold sores are not only confined to the mouth.
   • Be especially careful not to touch your genitals—or anyone else's genitals—after you've touched the cold sore. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus, which can easily become a nasty strain of genital herpes.
2. Don't spread the virus to anyone else. Your sores are contagious! Don't kiss anyone or share food or drinks. Avoid any mouth contact. Wash your hands regularly, and keep physical contact to a relative minimum.
3. Toss your toothbrush. Throw out your toothbrush after the blister has formed, and toss it once the sore has cleared up. A toothbrush is the perfect vessel to carry the virus, and you can end up triggering an outbreak in yourself if you re-use the same toothbrush again and again. This is a preventative measure, not a cure. However, it's well-worth doing if it helps you cut an outbreak short.
4. Use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to protect the sore. This prevents foreign bacteria from contaminating the area, and it helps keep your skin soft. Dab a tiny dollop of jelly onto the sore with a Q-tip or a cotton swab. Make sure to cover the entire infected area!
   • Re-apply as often as possible when the cold sore dries out. Keep adding Vaseline until your cold sore is gone.
   • Before you apply the petroleum jelly, wash your hands thoroughly with water and antibacterial soap. If you can't get to a sink, at least use hand-sanitizing gel or wipes to disinfect your hands.
5. Avoid acidic or salty foods. This may make your skin more oily and help the virus take root. Instead, eat cool, soft foods.
6. Be patient. If you don't spread or further contaminate your sores, a cold sore outbreak should disappear within a week. If the outbreak is especially bad, you can expect it to last anywhere from 2-4 weeks. Bear in mind that the duration is highly dependent upon when you start treatment. If you start to medicate the cold sore as soon as you feel it tingling, you might be able to head the outbreak off completely. If you let it fester for a few days and don't take care of yourself, you might be in for the long haul.

Using Prescription and Over-the-Counter Products

1. Use over-the-counter cold sore creams. There are a number of effective nonprescription products on the market. including Abreva, Viractin, Zilactin, and Herpecin-L. These creams can speed the healing process of cold sores – and they may even be able to prevent an outbreak, if you apply them soon enough. Look for cold sore treatments online or at a drugstore.
   • Docosanol 10% (Abreva) is one of the most widely-trusted products on the market. Use the cream to stave off the first tingle of a cold sore outbreak. Abreva was the first nonprescription medication that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved to reduce the duration and severity of cold sore outbreaks.
   • Tetracaine (Viractin) and lidocaine cream (Zilactin-L) are topical anesthetics. Use them to ease pain and itching. Spread these products onto your cold sores as often as six times a day when you're in the midst of an outbreak. Pain and itching usually subside within two to three days after you first use the product.
   • Benzyl alcohol gel (Zilactin) helps soothe cold sore pain. It may also help your sores heal more quickly. As with most treatments, it will be most helpful if you start using it as soon as you notice a budding cold sore.
   • Use dimethicone with sunscreen (Herpecin-L) to moisturize your lip area and reduce the damage from UV rays. This product may help ease pain and itching. It can also help keep cold sores from coming back, particularly when the sore was caused by overexposure to the sun.
2. Use numbing agents. Menthol and phenol are common ingredients in lip balms and ointments. They should help soften your scabs and keep them from cracking. Be aware of the limitations: even though these chemicals can soothe or moisturize your cold sore, they are not clinically proven to heal it.
3. Ask your doctor about antiviral prescription medications. Prescription cold sore creams may shorten the duration of an outbreak by a day or two, and they may even be able to prevent an outbreak if you time it right. These drugs are more powerful than home remedies and over-the-counter treatments, and they may have adverse side-effects – so only go this route if your problem is especially bad.
   • Look for acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), and valacyclovir (Valtrex). These oral antivirals work best if you begin using them within 48 hours of noticing an outbreak. Valacyclovir is the most expensive of the three, but it is easier for your digestive tract to absorb – and thus more effective.

Home Remedies

1. Try using vanilla extract. Some people swear by this natural cold sore remedy. Vanilla is alcohol-based, so the presence of vanilla may make it hard for the virus to thrive. This may lessen the length and severity of the outbreak. If you do use vanilla, try to buy it organic so you're sure it's pure. Use a cotton swab to apply vanilla extract to the sore as soon as you feel the telltale tingling.
   • First, soak a cotton pad or swab in vanilla extract until thoroughly saturated. Try to soak a concentrated area to conserve vanilla; you only really need enough surface area to cover the budding cold sore.
   • Apply the swab directly to your sore. If you can't yet see a sore, then try to find the source of the tingling. Hold the swab or pad in place for a minute or so, until the cold sore has thoroughly absorbed the vanilla.
   • Re-apply vanilla four times a day until your cold sore is gone. Vanilla extract can be expensive, so only use as much as you need!
2. Use ice to reduce swelling and ease pain. If your cold sore is puffed-up and painful, try holding an ice pack against the area. A single ice cube will suffice, if the sore is small enough. Press the ice gently into your skin until you can't stand it anymore. Pull it away to let your skin rest, then use it again as needed.
   • Consider using an ice pack (or a plastic bag filled with ice) instead of single ice cubes. This way, when the ice melts, you can refreeze the water in the bag rather than having to find a completely new ice cube. Make sure to wash the outside of the bag with water and antibacterial soap after each use.
3. Apply a whole milk compress. This home remedy can help ease your pain and speed up the healing process. Milk contains immunoglobulins, proteins that fight off and prevent viruses-like herpes. It also contains l-lysine, which may speed up the healing process and inhibit the amino acids that cause outbreaks. Drink whole milk often to help prevent cold sores. To fight cold sores that have already erupted, make a whole milk compress.
   • Soak a cotton ball in a tablespoon of milk. Make sure that the cotton is completely saturated with milk.
   • Press the cotton ball gently against the cold sore. Hold it there for a few minutes. Try not to squeeze out the milk; let the sore absorb the proteins gradually.
   • Dab the milky residue off of your cold sore. Use a clean rag, moistened with water. Consider adding a dab of petroleum jelly to protect the sore while it absorbs the milk.
4. Rub salt in your wound. This home treatment is more painful than the other methods, but it may help dry out your sore. First, dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt into a small glass of lukewarm water. Stir the mixture thoroughly, then use a cotton ball to soak up a bit of the saltwater. Dab the salt solution gently onto your cold sore, and let the salt dry onto your skin.
5. Use hydrogen peroxide to keep it clean. Hydrogen peroxide disinfects the sore, which speeds up the healing process and makes it harder for the sore to spread. First, soak a cotton ball in a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide; use more if you feel it isn’t saturated enough. Press the cotton ball gently against your sore for a few seconds, and consider dabbing it around. Once you pull the cotton away, leave your sore alone for five minutes or so. Let the sore absorb the hydrogen peroxide, then rinse it off.

Tips

• Be gentle when applying any substance directly to the sore.
• Try not to make a big fuss about it. This will only draw more attention to the sore.
• Avoid sun exposure, as it causes increased inflammation and can delay healing.

Warnings

• Wash hands before contact with cold sore and after contact with cold sore.
• Do not try to squeeze it or burst it.

Things You'll Need

• Ice Pack
• Clean hands and antibacterial soap
• Vaseline; vanilla; whole milk; sea salt
• Cotton Swab

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Sources and Citations

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