Agonising painful cold sore......any tips?

[EeByGum]

ow ow ow ow OW

I have a cold sore right in the corner of my mouth...not right on my skin but in the crease of my mouth actually on my lips so EVERY time I open my mouth to talk or eat (eating is the worst), the cold sore cracks open and bleeds.

I sat through a meeting at work today and after about 5 minutes, I stopped contributing because it was just too painful.

I am putting those cold sore patches on it at night and putting zovirax on during the day but does anyone have any tips for stopping it cracking open all the time?

(even my glands under my chin have swollen up now because it is so horrid and painful!)

[EeByGum]

.

[MissingMyHeels]

L Lysine tabs, think you can take two four hourly, Neals yard do a good tincture thing - similar to LomaBrit - lemon balm mint extract thingy I think, cold tea bags are soothing, tea tree oil aids healing and you can obviously try all the over the counter stuff you can buy but none are very effective ime.

[MissingMyHeels]

I have had a cold sore almost every week since my DD was born 4months ago - I feel your pain

[EeByGum]

oh that sounds nasty, poor you. Did you get them that frequently beforehand?

I will look for those things but I fear you are right and there's not much that can be done. I can't decide whether to let it crust over and try not to open my mouth (this isn't going to work is it!) or keep it moisturised so it doesn't get hard and then it won't hurt so much.

How do you cope with getting them so often? Do you think it's linked to tiredness?

[MissingMyHeels]

I would keep it moisturised with vaseline so it doesn't scar/get hard and split. I think I have had so many because my immune system is so weak after c-section and long labour - takes a body a long while to recover I guess plus not having a change to "recharge".

I am however going to docs to get some anti viral pills but it has been a struggle to get them to give me these, mainly it's just a case of waiting them out and not kissing my baby!

[MissingMyHeels]

Oh and drink lots of water, it somehow impacts your saliva gland (under the chin) and apparently diluting concertration of virus helps.

[EeByGum]

how annoying that they wouldn't give you the pills - like you'll have the chance to rest and recharge with a small baby!

Yes, it is exhausting, those early days and the cold sores are probably tiring you out even more. Must be hard not kissing your little one!

Good advice...I will keep it moisturised and keep my fingers crossed that I have less than a week to go aarrghh.

Hope you feel better soon.

[EeByGum]

yes, I must remember to do that. I am probably drinking less because it hurts when I open my mouth (and the glands under my chin on the side of the cold sore are all swollen and painful grr).

[EeByGum]

I'm putting those clear patches on at night but have to take them off for work because they look ridiculous on (and tbh, they hurt like HELL when I have to pull them off!)

[cocolepew]

Lemon balm is supposed to keep them at bay. I put sudocream on mine at night, though it does keep it wet. I don't get them so much now, but I never go out without lipstick as the sun brings mine out.

[MissingMyHeels]

Yeah they're ok if it's in a good position but they don't allow the cold sore to dry/heal.

Get a straw, I find this works when I have one at side of mouth. Hope you feel better soon!

[Flibbertyjibbet]

I get coldsores whenever I am run down. I find Blisteze takes the sting out. It must contain a bit of anasthetic (sp).

It also helps with the healing. I always have a tube somewhere in the house.

I think those cold sore patches are designed to dry it up, which will make the cracking worse. You need something that will keep it moist while it heals. Zovirax I find is only useful for when the coldsore is breaking out, as it can sometimes stop them coming out. But again it tends to dry them out which is good when they are in the middle of your lip but not in the corner.

If the glands in your neck are swollen then its not just cold sores. You are seriously run down and need rest, good food and a good blast of vitamins.

(Yes like rest is ever that easy, but I do try )

[EeByGum]

what is lysine?

Thanks everyone. Yes, I am run down. Had a nasty tummy bug a week or so ago and didn't get a chance to recover before going back to work/sorting out the children. It's one of the hardest things I've found about being a parent - the lack of recovery time after minor illnesses!

[EeByGum]

thanks, that's very interesting. I've been eating a lot of nuts recently and it says in there that nuts contain the amino acid they think you need to have less of with a cold sore so I wonder if that contributed.

[christiana]

Message withdrawn

[MissingMyHeels]

Lysine is naturally found in tuna if you'd rather do it that way!