I would like to find some advice about treating cold sores/fever blisters. I had an initial really bad outbreak when I was a teenager...not from kissing boys:) but from swimming in a hot water return near a coal power plant...it was the local swimming hole but its warm temps were a melting pot of bacteria and heaven only know what, little did we know...
Anyways I have tried everything under the sun...at first a new medication may work for to alleviate the cold sore for the first time but it seems the strain I have is able to become immune to medications quickly. Usually after 2 outbreaks a new medication will become pretty much useless.
I take care not to get too much sun in the summer which does help. I have tried one oral medication which didn't seem to help at all. (not sure which one, I think there are a few out there). Abreva, Herpecin, Camphor-phenol, carmax, etc etc. Nothing works any more. And I don't get cute little, hardly noticeable cold sores; they are huge and swollen and take up to 2 weeks to finally be done. I am thinking what might be the problem is that it may be a different strain (HPV 2) and not the more common strain (HPV 1), does anyone know more about this?
I am looking for anything that will help me; homeopathic, nutrition based, medications, anything. With my initial outbreak I had my pediatrician prescribe an odd concoction of a bunch of different things but I know there was cough syrup in it. It seemed to work well back then but I don't know how to get the RX again.
Any help would be appreciated
K. H.
Thanks for all the advice...I had my husband pick me up some l-lysine yesterday but he didn't get any info from the pharm. about how much is too much so I am just going to take 2 today and 1 a day from now on, it is a full blown cold sore I have now so I don't think it will help this one but hopefully for the future. I also have some vitamin c I am going to take with it as well, hopefully keeping my immune system in a better state will help with controlling outbreaks.
Thanks again K
I use Lycall ointment. You can get it over the counter at a pharmacy. (I've always gotten it at Walmart or Walgreens) I put it on at the first feeling of a coldsore and it seems to do wonders. Also my sister and a couple other people I know get them pretty bad and their Dr.s prescribed them Valtrex. They all swear by that. Good luck!
Hi K.,
I wikipedia'd it for you, and it seems there are some good meds out there that can help. I don't think you have HSV2, but I know that people with HSV2 can also get cold sores.
Here's the link I was reading. I hope it helps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_sores
Good luck!
i get canker sores bad and my my mother gets cold sores bad. she takes "lysine" everyday and i take it when i have a break out. lysine is an amino acid that your body doesn't make. you can buy lysine over the counter. that is the only thing i know that really helps and controls a break out!!! good luck!!!!!
I just wanted to say also that the supplement "Lysine" is the way to go. I was told this by a friend and when ever he would have the breakout he would take several in one dose and then would continue to take it daily too until it was totally gone. I would ask the pharmacist first though about how much is safe to take in one dose. From what I remember my friend told me that taking a big dose like that boosts your immune system to kick it. I did try this when I had a cold sore/fever blister after he told me about it and I checked with the pharmacist to make sure I was taking it properly. I do remember taking a larger than normal dose, but can't remember how much exactly. It definitely works though, because if I just feel one starting I automatically start taking it and usually it never amounts to a full blown sore like it use to in the past. I told my mom about it and now she does the same thing as it works for her too. Maybe it helps to keep them away too, because I don't get them near as much as I use to. I don't know if it is something you can take on a daily basis like a vitamin or not, but it wouldn't hurt to check with the pharmacist if you get them frequently. Hope this helps
If you can't find a medicine to attack the cold sore, maybe you should work on making yourself stronger?
Do you get outbreaks whenever you are stressed out? When you are "down in the dumps"? If so, then perhaps you ought to watch your irons in your fire and take it easy a bit.
Have you talked to your doctor about this? The cold sores sound really bad and they are contagious. A lab test could help determine with which strain you are dealing so you don't have to guess.
I hope you find a solution soon!
i second what kelli said. take one llysine tablet every day and when you get a break out take two a day. it will help out alot!
Sunlight makes them pop out quicker than anything. Make sure you have a chap stick with sunscreen and wear it always. My daughter cut her outbreaks down to near nothing with sunscreen. We also use Lysine.
