Home Remedies: Cold Sores
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Nothing makes you feel more unattractive and ’self conscious’ than cold sores, especially when they appear on your lip.
This article will explain exactly what cold sores are, how to prevent them from occurring, how to treat them naturally and prevent them from spreading.
What Are Cold Sores & What Causes Them?
Cold Sores either occur as blisters on the lip or ulcers in the mouth and are usually caused by the Herpes Simplex Type 1 Virus. You may not realize this but an estimated 80% of all adults carry this virus even though it may not be causing any symptoms. Cold sores are painful, unsightly and make you feel self conscious about your appearance.
Cold Sore Prevention
Like all ailments, prevention is always better than the cure. Studies have shown that mineral and vitamin deficiency as well as stress are major triggers of cold sores in many people.
Here’s some things you can do dramatically reduce your chances of triggering a cold sore outbreak.
- Make sure you’re getting enough sleep.
- Ensure you’re eating fresh fruits and vegetables daily and that you’re keeping well hydrated.
- Limit your intake of cold sore supporting foods such as chocolate, beer, cola, peas, nuts.
- Take echinacea to boost your immune system and help keep it fighting fit.
- Take 15mg of zinc each day. It has shown to be a virus blocker.
- Take time out daily to meditate (relax) and breathe deeply.
Cold Sore Treatments
The best stage to treat a cold sore is when you have just started to feel that tell tale tingling sensation.
If you act quickly enough you can greatly reduce the size of the cold sore outbreak and can even prevent it from occurring all together.
Here are some proven Home Remedies for treating Cold Sores:
- Apply ice immediately to the tingling or sore spot. This has shown to reduce any swelling, ease pain and reduce the potential size of a cold sore.
- Apply some lemon balm ointment (available in Health Stores). The essential oils it contains have shown to inhibit the virus.
- Make a blend of tea-tree and olive oil (equal amounts) and dab onto cold sore with a cotton bud. Tea-tree oil is a powerful antiseptic and has unusual highly antiviral activity. Do this several times throughout the day.
- If you have nothing else, good old vinegar is a tried and true home remedy for cold sores. Vinegar is acidic and cold sore do not do well in an acidic environment.
- If the sore has dried and become crusty, apply some vasoline/petroleum jelly with a cotton bud to prevent it from cracking and bleeding.
- To soothe the sore and soothe any itching sensations, apply some vitamin E oil. If you have some vitamin E capsules, simply pierce one and capture the oil on a cotton bud and gently apply it to the sore.
Keep Your Cold Sores To Yourself
Cold Sores are very contagious and you’ll want to do your best to keep them from spreading and becoming larger. You’ll also want to ensure that you don’t pass them onto others.
Here’s a few simple measures to keep your cold sores to a minimum and keep them to yourself.
- Never touch your cold sore(s) with your fingers as you could easily spread the virus to other parts of your body, especially your eyes. We also pick up germs on our hands and fingers from other sources which could aggravate the cold sores. When you need to touch your cold sores to apply a remedy, always use a clean cotton bud.
- Replace your toothbrush with a new one (get new toothpaste too) and then throw it away when your cold sore has healed. A wet toothbrush in a damp bathroom is a haven for viruses to breed.
- Saliva is the key transmitter of the virus so when you have a cold sore avoid sharing glasses, face washes/towels, toothbrushes (obviously) and unfortunately you definitely need to avoid kissing!
Be Cold Sore Conscious
If you are someone who gets cold sores on a regular basis try paying attention to what’s happening in your life and how you’re feeling leading up to them. We all have different triggers and understanding what yours are can help you avoid setting them off in the future.
Unfortunately there is no cure for cold sores. It is one of those health conditions that just needs to be managed. Remember, prevention is always best however if you feel a cold sore coming on be sure to tend to it as quickly as possible.
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