How To Get Rid Of A Cold Sore Fast

Of course you want to know how get rid of a how to get rid of a cold sore fast fast. Who wants to that ugly blister on their face? You’d have to be crazy not to want to get rid of it as fast as possible. This article will talk about the different ways to treat cold sores so they disappear as fast as possible: both with pharmaceuticals and home style natural remedies and the ways to prevent future outbreaks from occurring.

I am just reporting what I have learned. What I have written here is not meant to be medical advice. Before beginning any regimen of treatment it is advisable to consult a licensed medical practicianer.

I would like preface my remarks by saying that in every aspect of both Western medicine and Alternative medicine, there are no treatments that work for 100% of the patients 100% of the time. You will have to pick the right treatment for you. It may be one of the treatments below. It may be a combination of these treatments or it may end up being something your grandmother told you.

I think that we’ve all heard the ads on TV for the latest, greatest drug. As a side note, (I don’t think you’re supposed to notice) the ads usually talk about some horrible side effects (some even mention death as a side effect) that can happen to some people. This from a drug that’s supposed to help you! For this reason I will focus heavily on the natural treatments for cold sores.

Cause

To better understand the treatments, it’s important to understand the cause.

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. Usually it’s the type 1, although sometimes it can be the type 2. Anyway, the virus lives in the roots of the nerves that are close to the skin.

They lay there dormant until an event such as stress, a cold or even the sun triggers the virus to become active.

Why stress? What happens during stress?

During stress, the body’s fluids change from alkaline to acidic in a very short time. Most diseases occur when the body is in an acidic state. This may be due to the fact that the immune system is weakened by an acidic body.

The immune system is also weakened by a cold. That’s one reason that we really have to take care of ourselves during a cold.

Once the immune system is weakened, the virus is free to become active in the cells near the skin (usually close to the mouth). The virus cells grow and replicate until they rupture the cell and the virus then invades other nearby cells. This rupturing is why cold sores are so painful.


Doctor prescribed medications:

An antiviral drug that may be prescribed is acyclovir

Other drugs that may be prescribed are Zovitrax and Valtrax.


Because of potential side effects from any prescription medication I wouldn’t recommend them or any other doctor prescribed drug unless the natural treatments failed.



Over-the-Counter medications:

One of the most popular medications right now is Abreva. Some people swear by this medication and some say it doesn’t do much good at all. Others in use are Zilactin and Ziladent.


Many over the counter medications contain benzocaine; a painkiller. The pain of the cold sore is reduced so the patient thinks that the medicine is working, but really it isn’t doing anything to cure the cold sore.

Temporary pain relief can also be had from Oragel orAmbesol.

Other over the counter pain medications that will give temporary pain relief are ibuprofen, acetaminophen or even aspirin.

Natural Treatments

Ice

Easily, the most common of the natural treatments is ice. Ice should be used on the spot where you first feel the tingling and/or itching of a cold sore that is coming on. The cold of the ice will actually cause the virus to return to a dormant state in the nerve cells. Instead of using ice; frozen tea bags would be even better since the tannic acid in tea has anti-viral properties. Ice should not be used after a blister has broken because this will cause healing time to be longer.


Heat

Once the cold sore breaks open; you should no longer use ice, but use heat instead. To do this place a heated tea bag against the open sore. The heat will cause the body to send more oxygen to the scene which helps the body build new cells, plus the tea has the tannic acid that will help fight the virus.


Keep It Covered

This isn’t so much a treatment, but it is something that you must do to keep the virus from spreading and therefore prolonging your episode. You can cover the sore with petroleum jelly, Carmex, or any other lip balm.

Lysine

This can be purchased OTC because it is considered a supplement. Take 3,000 to 5,000 mg per day during an outbreak and also take it if you know that you will soon experience an event that would normally trigger a cold sore.

Tea Tree Oil

Make a drink out of water (one cup) tea tree oil (2 drops), violet, herbal sage, ginger powder and 2 sage leaves. Drink this tea 2-3 times per day and your sore should be gone in about 3 days.

Use extreme caution however, some people say that tea tree oil is toxic if taken internally, but they recommend that it be used externally on the sore twice a day.

Calcium

It’s important to take a calcium supplement while you are having an outbreak because your body is most likely acidic. Calcium will help get you back to an alkaline state where the virus will have great difficulty thriving.

Garlic

Like calcium, garlic is very alkaline and therefore good for fighting just about any problem. Garlic should be crushed and applied directly to the sore.

Zinc

Zinc is used to fight the common cold virus, but it also works well in fighting the virus that causes cold sores. An effective way to fight cold sores is to use Zicam nasal spray because you can not only spray it on the sore, but when you also take it internally; it has proven to be quite effective.

Use as many of these remedies as you can until you find out what works best for you.

Left untreated, a cold sore will last anywhere from 10-14 days. If you try these treatments, you should be able to get it down to 3 days.

There are many other treatments that are used by small numbers of people. These are just some of the more popular.

Cold sores are a very serious business; to get some more information read the book called, “Cold Sore Freedom In 3 Days” by Grace Melgarejo

Disclaimer: This is an affiliate link so I will be compensated if you buy the book.

Additional disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I am just reporting what I have found out. Please consult a licensed medical practitioner before beginning any course of treatment.