help for cold sores - any good tips

[jacqueline]

my whole lower lip is swollen with a row of cold sores. along with looking horrible (got to go to work like this- blah) it also hurts and itches.
i ate L-lysine tablets all day yesterday (along with huge amt of vit c, acidophilus tablets and vit b complex)
any tips, suggestions would be welcome! im ready to get rid of them now (yeah i know it doesn't work that way)
tia

[Sari]

Doesn't Abreva help cold sores go away faster? Or is it something else I'm thinking of?

[Tamerama]

Yes, get some Abreva! I put it on as soon as i feel that tingly feeling they start with and it shortens the healing time immensly...it also keeps them from getting puffy....

[YankeeMom]

I went to my dr and got some anti-viral ointment. It works. When we first moved here (different climate, stress of moving, kids, dh working more, etc) I was sooooo stressed, I would literally have them one after the other. I no sooner got one healed & another would pop up. They hurt sooo bad.

Since I got this anti-viral cream, I rub it on at the slightest tingle. I have only had two in the last 3.5 yrs and they were itty bitty tiny, didn't hurt, and only erupted because they were just inside my lip where the medicine kept getting washed away.

Totally worth the co-pay for the prescription IMO.

[many houseapes]

teatree oil.It's about $5 a bottle at Walmart & lasts for a long time.

[jacqueline]

thanks everyone for the replies....
i need to keep these tips in mind for the next time too. it was yucky today at work but i think the puffiness isn't as bad as this morning.
i've heard the tea tree oil thing from someone else too many
again thanx abunch fv'ers

[kksmom92]

I read somewhere if you take some asprin when you first feel the tingle it will go away or won't get as bad. I've had it work for me before, but the last time it didn't. Still worth a try in my book.

[PhytoSolution]

There is a natural alternative that works for me. I got it while in Paris from a traditional Herbalist. It was a little bit uncomfortable, because it burned, but it killed back the virus quickly.

It is a combination of Tea Tree (like posted above) and Niaouli essential oils. On the bottle it lists only a 20% concentration. I used a q-tip and applied it directly to the sore a couple times a day. They seem to go through their cycle much quicker when I use it.

Good Luck
Aaron

[zakity]

DH used to put DMSO on it. I think that is what it was called. I have no clue what it is though.