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Cold Sore Remedies
Cold sores appear as blisters — fluid filled pockets beneath the surface of the skin around the mouth or on the lips. They can break open, ooze, and crust over, lasting for around 7 to 10 days. Those 7 to 10 days can be brutal, but you may find comfort in home remedies and natural treatments.
About 90 percent of adults across the globe test positive for the virus that causes cold sores. Most of these people will likely never show symptoms, but some may deal with recurring breakouts.
Cold sores are usually a symptom of the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), though HSV-2 can also cause cold sores. When a person first contracts the virus, they will experience a breakout within just a few days. The initial breakout can be the worst, accompanied by a fever, sore throat, aches and pains, and a headache.
But the virus doesn’t leave the body after the initial breakout. It simply remains dormant in your nerve cells.
Flare-ups can occur at any time and are triggered by things like stress, hormonal fluctuations, surgery, fevers, illness, or sun exposure. But while they can be unavoidable, there are a few things you can do to calm or shorten the duration of a cold sore outbreak.
Try these home remedies, but be aware that they may not help everyone. Prescription antiviral medications are proven to be much more effective for both treatment and prevention of cold sore outbreaks.
1. Lemon balm
The antiviral properties of lemon balm, also known as Melissa officinalis, may help reduce the redness and swelling associated with a blister or protect against future infections — at least according to some older research.
6. Stress reduction
Because stress can cause the herpes virus to come out of dormancy, reducing the amount of stress in your life is one way to prevent cold sores. Meditation, regular exercise, and avoiding the causes of stress in your life may help.
7. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen
Both of these medications can help ease the pain associated with a cold sore.
Prescription treatments
Cold sores will you usually go away on their own after a few days, but there are several prescription treatments that can help speed up that healing time.
If you experience several outbreaks a year, you can even take oral antiviral medication all year round to prevent outbreaks altogether. These treatments include:
- acyclovir (Zovirax)
- valacyclovir (Valtrex)
- famciclovir (Famvir)
- penciclovir (Denavir)
Takeaway
By using these home remedies, reducing stress, and keeping healthy, you may be able to lessen the likelihood of future breakouts and the pain that often accompanies them.