When I first got a cold sore, I freaked out. I had no idea what it was. Yes, I was that dramatic.
Cold sores are a very new demon of mine and everyone gets them differently. I get them in the middle of my top lip, and they tend to get very swollen. They generally only appear if I'm run down and each time I'm unprepared because they're just not something I, or any of my family, are used to dealing with.
A few weeks ago I caught a cold and a cold sore to match. As per usual I was completely unprepared. There was nothing in the house, and I was waiting to get paid so a run to chemist was out of the question. I text Avril (of Blushful Beauty) and she had some great advice. Picking up the cheapest cold sore treatment, getting some vaseline to help it heal and if I was stuck, put a drop of perfume on it to dry it out.
Then I started thinking about it. A cold sore is a virus. There's nothing that can kill a virus. What good is a cold sore treatment when I've woken up with a fully formed and very angry cold core? When I got my first cold sore, I found relief in Aloe Vera Vaseline - the only time I use Vaseline. The Aloe Vera really helped heal it.
Then I remembered what I read when I was looking at the properties of lemon oil and juice - one of them being the fact it was an anti-viral. It won't kill a virus, but it will keep it from spreading. Also tea tree oil is well known for being anti-bacterial. So I set out about creating my own cold sore home remedy.
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| Key Ingredients |
Now this is in no way scientific, and probably completely unoriginal. But this is what I came up with.
- Apply lemon juice at night - it tingles so much it almost hurts, but it settles down. This helps kill bacteria and stop the virus from spreading. Then I apply a drop of tea tree oil - this is all done with a cotton bud just to be ultra-hygienic and what not.
- Repeat this in the morning at put on Vaseline throughout the day to keep it hydrated and help it heal.
- Ice it to bring down the swelling. It only takes about 20 minutes and I found the swelling didn't come back. This made it a lot more comfortable.
- I also made sure to take plenty of Vitamin C and a supplement called Lysine The Wikipedia page says this helps in the production of anti-bodies and it's very helpful in the treatment of things like cold sores and mouth ulcers. My mum picked up the bottle the first time I got a cold sore. I take this as long as I have the it and I can be sure it's all cleared up.
I found my home-made remedy worked really quickly. By the fourth day I was fulling in recovery mode, just clearing up the damage done to my lips rather than having to fight the virus.
The only problem with this "remedy" is the Vaseline. I had a week of dry, cracking lips after I stopped using it. To help the recovery I called on my dry lip superheros you've met before. I threw out the Vaseline as soon as it was cleared up so I don't end up spreading the nastiness. Oh and I religiously disinfected my hands. Admittedly I turned into somewhat of a crazy person, but it worked and it didn't cost me a penny. They were all things I had in the house so a cold sore emergency is no longer that much of a crisis.
Do you feel my cold sore pain?
Do you have any home remedies?
Lisa
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Very interesting post! I have suffered from cold sores my whole life ever since i was child, i would get one every few weeks, especially if i felt unwell or was stressed out or upset about something. One time it was particularly bad, my entire top lip was covered in about 5 cold sores all at once. it was so swollen and was a horrible experience. I have tried every single remedy and nothing worked for me. I went to several different doctors and they all told me to use zovirax but they wouldn't listen that it doesn't work. i decided to try again and went to my doctor except it was a lovely young student doctor. she presscribed me aciclovir tablets which are normally used i think if you have the shingles. anyway, she told me they won't heal the cold sore but that i should stop getting cold sores so frequently. So when you get a cold sore, take the tablets 5 times a day for 5 days. that was about 3 years ago and ever since i took the tablets i only get a cold sore once a year. it's amazing.
ReplyDeleteThey're such a burden! And I think they affect everyone different - some people get them worse than other. Something about how the virus reacts in your system I guess... Zovirax is useless!!!!!!!!!
DeleteI've been prone to cold sores since I was a child :( I don't like to use anything like vaseline because I fear it will spread the cold sore to other areas of my face. I go straight for the Zovirax or the Compeed patches - brilliant especially at night - they isolate the sore and dry it out. I also use a separate hand towel to my family! I don't get them much but the virus never disappears. Likes to flare up when the weather changes or when I get run-down.
ReplyDeleteYeah they're a nightmare. Most of your time is trying to contain the virus more than anything else. I was disinfecting my hands before and after I applied anything and washing them religiously. Ugh, such hassle!!!
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