Getting rid of cold sores: Remedies and treatments for fever blisters.
Are there any cures for cold sores?
While there is no cure for cold sores (fever blisters) there are medications and remedies that can be useful in their treatment and management. On this page you will find a discussion about some of the different types of over-the-counter cold sore medications that are available, and the rationale behind some common cold sore home remedies. The next page of our topic discusses prescription medications that are used in the treatment of cold sores.
| Please remember that all stages of cold sore formation should be considered to be contagious. So to avoid spreading the herpes virus (either to other people or other parts of your own body), after applying any medication or treatment to a cold sore you should always wash your hands. |
Over-the-counter medications for cold sores.
Many over-the-counter (OTC) cold sore medications are primarily palliative in nature, meaning that their intended purpose is to relieve the symptoms of cold sores such as pain, itching, and burning. Other OTC products help to provide an environment that is thought to inhibit the continued development of the cold sore lesion and/or help to promote its healing. A third category of OTC medications possesses properties that directly interfere with the herpes virus' ability to form a cold sore.
OTC virus inhibiting medications for cold sores.
Products containing docosanol.
Docosanol is a compound that is capable of having an inhibitory effect on the herpes virus and therefore it is suggested that it can help to limit both the duration and severity of cold sores. Clinical trials for one docosanol product showed that it reduced the median time-to-healing period for cold sores by (only) about one day. In most cases the instructions for creams containing docosanol state that the product should be applied to the area where the cold sore is forming repeatedly throughout the day, as soon as a person senses that a lesion has begun to form (preferably the Tingle stage).Other OTC medications for cold sores.
Many OTC products for cold sores contain one or more of the compounds listed below.
Numbing agents for cold sores.
When applied, numbing agents can help alleviate a cold sore's burning, itching, and pain. Some of the active ingredients found in these types of products are: tetracaine, benzocaine, lidocaine, benzyl alcohol, camphor, and phenol.
Products that limit cold sore formation or promote their healing.
The compounds zinc, lysine, phenol, and tannic acid have each been suggested to have antiviral properties, and therefore are thought to have an inhibitory effect on the herpes virus particles' ability to form cold sore lesions.
Antibacterial agents will not have an effect on herpes virus particles but medications that contain antibacterial compounds can help to provide an environment that will promote the prompt healing of cold sores by way of preventing a secondary bacterial infection.
Medications that moisturize cold sores.
Lip balms can moisturize and soften the scabs that form on cold sores so they are less likely to crack and bleed. Some common ingredients found in this type of product are petrolatum and allantoin.
Medications that provide sun screen protection.
Exposure to bright sunlight can be a trigger for cold sore outbreaks. Because of this many lip balm medications will contain zinc oxide or some other compound that provides sun screen protection.
Home remedies for cold sores.
While none of the remedies listed below have been scientifically proven to cure or shorten the duration of cold sores many people do feel that they find them to be beneficial.
Apply ice to cold sores.
The benefits of ice are thought to be twofold.
- Applying ice (for five to ten minutes each hour) during the Tingle stage will lower the temperature of the tissue where the cold sore is forming. This temperature reduction will reduce the area's metabolic rate and therefore, in turn, stifle the cold sore's development.
- Intermittent application of ice to a cold sore can act as a numbing agent and therefore lessen its pain and itching.
Apply a tea bag to the area where a cold sore is forming.
Tea contains tannic acid and it has been suggested that tannic acid possesses antiviral properties (some over-the-counter medications for cold sores contain tannic acid). Placing a tea bag on a cold sore when it first begins to form (especially during the Tingle stage) can possibly help to minimize the extent to which the lesion will develop. One should position the moistened tea bag (regular black tea like that used to brew ice tea) on the area where the cold sore is forming for a few minutes every hour.
Coat a cold sore with petroleum jelly.
Moisturizing agents such as petroleum jelly can be applied to cold sore scabs. This will moisturize and soften them so to help to prevent them from cracking and bleeding.
Nutritional supplements.
It has been suggested that taking l-lysine supplements, an amino acid, can reduce the number of outbreaks of cold sores that a person experiences. This fact, however, has not been conclusively proven by medical research. Lysine supplements should only be taken in response to a recommendation by a health care professional.
Herbal remedies.
Both of the herbal antiseptics Sage and Tea Tree Oil and also the herbal sedative Violet has been suggested as a treatment for cold sores. Please remember that herbal treatments must be used appropriately, and therefore should only be used in response to a recommendation by a health care professional.
Preventing cold sores.
There are a few common sense things you can do to help to minimize the number of cold sores you get.
- Since it is thought that exposure to bright sunlight can trigger cold sores, when outside you should shield your face from the sun with a hat. Additionally, use a lip balm that contains a sun screen having an SPF value of 15 or greater.
- Injury to the lips can trigger cold sores. Minimize the potential for lip damage associated with chapping by applying a moisturizing lip balm.
