Cold Sore Treatments - The Things You Need to Know
If you've ever suffered from a cold sore you know one thing: they're absolutely embarrassing to have.
An ugly, weeping lesion on your mouth that is easy to crack open, easy to spread, and keeps on coming back.
The truly unfortunate thing about cold sores is the stigma associated with them.
Because they are caused by the Herpes Simplex virus, many people incorrectly assume that someone with cold sores is some sort of sexual deviant.
While cold sores can be spread through sexual contact, the truth is that most sufferers of cold sores contracted the virus in a much more mundane way: through contact with family members.
That's right.
Family members.
The herpes simplex virus is incredibly easy to spread, and at the most infectious point of an outbreak many people incorrectly assume that they're fine for the time being.
The virus itself "sheds" itself in a continual healing process, meaning that using a spoon that a family member used, or even giving them a kiss on the cheek, hand, or neck can effectively move the virus to you.
The other problem is that lips easily chap and break on an ongoing basis, exactly what the virus needs to spread.
That happens to you and you now have an incurable virus that will be carried for the rest of your life.
The fortunate part is that a cold sore and the underlying virus cannot kill you.
The downside is that a cold sore can be even more embarrassing than the sexual version of the virus; after all, you carry it around on your face for days or even weeks.
So what's the best cold sore treatments available? Cold sore treatments have come a long way, and can be broken down into two areas: prevention and outbreak treatment.
Why is prevention included? Because it's the best way to avoid a full on outbreak.
This includes avoiding spicy foods, nuts, too many alcoholic beverages, and above all stress.
If you do this on a consistent basis you will dramatically reduce the amount of outbreaks and subsequent cold sore treatment you need.
If you do experience a breakout, here are a few cold sore treatments to help you along: 1.
Get a prescription from your Doctor.
There are many cheap drugs like Acyclovir, Valtrex, and Valacyclovir that can dramatically lessen your length of outbreak.
2.
Apply an ongoing alcoholic swab to the lesion.
This alone does wonders, since the alcohol kills everything, you can greatly reduce the amount of virus that "weeps" further along your lips and surrounding area.
Alcohol will also dry things out, meaning you should develop a scab more quickly.
3.
Don't touch it! Though it hurts and tingles, you need to avoid touching the lesion, as this can break it open and spread it dramatically.
4.
Use Lysine.
This cheap over the counter supplement can be found in many grocery stores and has been shown to reduce the time that an outbreak lasts.
If you follow these few steps you have yourself a solid cold sore treatment regimen that can turn 2-3 weeks of embarrassing suffering into 2-3 days if you're on top of things.
Outside of that, the last thing to remember is that a lot of people have cold sores, and even though they're ugly, they are by no means a reflection on who you are as a person!
An ugly, weeping lesion on your mouth that is easy to crack open, easy to spread, and keeps on coming back.
The truly unfortunate thing about cold sores is the stigma associated with them.
Because they are caused by the Herpes Simplex virus, many people incorrectly assume that someone with cold sores is some sort of sexual deviant.
While cold sores can be spread through sexual contact, the truth is that most sufferers of cold sores contracted the virus in a much more mundane way: through contact with family members.
That's right.
Family members.
The herpes simplex virus is incredibly easy to spread, and at the most infectious point of an outbreak many people incorrectly assume that they're fine for the time being.
The virus itself "sheds" itself in a continual healing process, meaning that using a spoon that a family member used, or even giving them a kiss on the cheek, hand, or neck can effectively move the virus to you.
The other problem is that lips easily chap and break on an ongoing basis, exactly what the virus needs to spread.
That happens to you and you now have an incurable virus that will be carried for the rest of your life.
The fortunate part is that a cold sore and the underlying virus cannot kill you.
The downside is that a cold sore can be even more embarrassing than the sexual version of the virus; after all, you carry it around on your face for days or even weeks.
So what's the best cold sore treatments available? Cold sore treatments have come a long way, and can be broken down into two areas: prevention and outbreak treatment.
Why is prevention included? Because it's the best way to avoid a full on outbreak.
This includes avoiding spicy foods, nuts, too many alcoholic beverages, and above all stress.
If you do this on a consistent basis you will dramatically reduce the amount of outbreaks and subsequent cold sore treatment you need.
If you do experience a breakout, here are a few cold sore treatments to help you along: 1.
Get a prescription from your Doctor.
There are many cheap drugs like Acyclovir, Valtrex, and Valacyclovir that can dramatically lessen your length of outbreak.
2.
Apply an ongoing alcoholic swab to the lesion.
This alone does wonders, since the alcohol kills everything, you can greatly reduce the amount of virus that "weeps" further along your lips and surrounding area.
Alcohol will also dry things out, meaning you should develop a scab more quickly.
3.
Don't touch it! Though it hurts and tingles, you need to avoid touching the lesion, as this can break it open and spread it dramatically.
4.
Use Lysine.
This cheap over the counter supplement can be found in many grocery stores and has been shown to reduce the time that an outbreak lasts.
If you follow these few steps you have yourself a solid cold sore treatment regimen that can turn 2-3 weeks of embarrassing suffering into 2-3 days if you're on top of things.
Outside of that, the last thing to remember is that a lot of people have cold sores, and even though they're ugly, they are by no means a reflection on who you are as a person!
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