What can you do to cure a cold sore? How long does it take for a cold sore to heal? And just how long are they contagious? Are there any over the counter medicines that can help a cold sore cure faster?
If you also have a cold sore that you want to treat, then you can try the few tips I have recommended in this article. Bur first, you should know that Cold sores will heal depending on several things, one being your body’s immune system and how revved up it is. Another being what you might use to speed the process.
Over the counter there are several products available, my personal favourite is Abreva, pricey but effective. By prescription, there is Valtrex, or zovirax. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus which lies dormant in your nervous system for life.
Various things can trigger an outbreak in various people, from too much sun to particular foods, most learn fairly quickly what they need to avoid minimizing outbreaks.
You begin to shed the virus approximately one week before the sore/s show up, and you continue to shed the virus for three weeks after the sore has completely healed before it goes dormant until the next outbreak.
So you can never really know when you are or are not contagious, so the recommendation is to not participate in oral sex at all, if you know you get cold sores, because while you are shedding the virus you can transmit it to your partner’s genitalia during oral sex and then it becomes genital herpes, something your partner is not likely to thank you for. One week…valtrex is a good medicine for herpes.
For treating cold sores, you can Mix honey and lemon, drink it with a tea spoon, drink orange juice or use ointment, put toothpaste on it. Having a cold sore means that you are infected with oral herpes.
Cold sores can itch or tingle when they are starting to come up. They then blister and open which can be painful. They finally scab over and heal. There is no cure for herpes and you will carry the virus for life. You may or may not get more breakouts, which you can manage.