To ask for your help with this cold sore

@hopsalong that wasn’t my experience with Superdrug at all I just put that I have cold sores no need to say genital herpes ( although I wouldn’t say that is anything to be ashamed of) and I last ordered them from Superdrug just last month. Also I don’t want to disagree with your experience but should OP decide to go down this route she should complete the prescribed course not just take a couple of the tablets.

Second getting aciclovir tablets (got my last lot from Superdrug online, based on recurrent cold sores and having genuinely been prescribed it before by my GP, but Superdrug being quicker than the faff to get another prescription) Ice cube in a sandwich bag helps with the itch/burn/tingle, and compeed patches do work for me fortunately.

Compeed patches, they are really good. Own brand zovirax is as good as zovirax but I tried the boots cold sore patches once and they were awful, compeed all the way for those.

Herpotherm hot stick thing is very good . It kind of burns the sore to kill the virus . Aclivor is the tablet which are very effective

Ice it!! Helps with the burning tingling sensation, reduces redness and speeds up the healing process. The times I forget to put an ice cube against mine is the times they take an age to heal. I had a coldsore a few weeks ago. Constantly iced it. It Tingled, blistered, scabbed and healed all within a few days I did also apply vinegar and alcohol hand gel too. I was also constantly sucking on ice lollies to help with the sore throat from Covid so I'm guessing that would've helped too

Don't necessarily recommend this, but you can go to the superdrug website, say you have genital herpes (I know) and buy a packet of aciclovir pills. I don't have genital herpes but I was prescribed the pills when I had shingles (nice post-Covid experience in 2020). I used to get annoying cold sores about twice a year. Nothing really worked. Now I take a couple of the pills (bought more from Superdrug, having got first lot from GP) and they vanish.

i get cold sores so badly and no cream or compeed plasters work for me ( I don’t know why that is but both my GP and my regular pharmacist say that they just don’t work for some people). I get them triggered by sunshine but more commonly by stress. My GP prescribes Oral Aciclovar for me I have had to have six months courses before now to break the cycle when I get them one outbreak after another. I’ve had them twice this year already ( bit of stressful time) and because it was difficult to get a GP appointment I ordered them online from Superdrug who offer an online GP prescribing process, you just have to answer a number of questions and pay ( it’s worth it for less hassle even though my prescriptions are free). If I get another outbreak any time soon I’ll go back to my GP and ask for the longer course again.

Yes sunlight often triggers mine. Factor 50 lip balm sometimes helps

Yes pumpkinpatch HERPES. Not plague, not syphilis, not even Covid, just HERPES. A virus I share with 90% of the population. If I should be ashamed of that perhaps you'd be good enough to explain why. Hope you're feeling better OP, herpes is a bugger and can make you feel vile.

And if stress is something you need to and can reduce, that’s as important as the physical stuff.

I have nothing to add to the practical stuff but consider the whole picture. An outbreak can be an indicator that the body is run down and needs some TLC. Sometimes they can’t be helped because they have been triggered by other minor or major physical illnesses but it’s a prompt to take a little extra care of yourself if you can. Advice I was given was to act as you would with any viral illness with rest, hydration and as healthy a diet as you can manage.

Tea tree lip balm used daily prevents outbreaks.

Herpotherm device speeds up healing:
www.amazon.co.uk/Herpotherm-Against-blisters-Chemical-Free-Treatment/dp/B07T4XP545/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=16QR8ALUE0PS4&keywords=cold+sore+device&qid=1658206276&sprefix=cold+sore+d%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A1AN1X5FKEHRE1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExT0NQWVpVSFFFVVpTJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTE2MDExT0dYNFRYVkZQWlAyJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3NDY1NjdCNEtJQVJZWTQyQlAmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

If you have missed the period in which cold sore cream could work (if you already have the manky blister) then you may find the compeed plaster makes it much more comfortable. Certainly it stops you touching it which reduces the likelihood of it getting bigger.
For the future keep Zovirax (or generic equivalent) near to hand and slap it in if you suspect any tingle. Like that you can avoid an outbreak.

L-lysine cream and take L-lysine tablets every day.

Someone on MN said a boiling hot spoon pressed onto the area.

Compeed patches are rubbish, they peel and are stiff, then when you pull it off, it takes half your coldsore with it leaving it a weeping mess.

👆🏽THIS! A thousand times over. I applied a Compeed patch after reading about them on Mumsnet. First of all you look daft with this highly visible plaster on your lip - it draws attention to, rather than hiding, the horrible cold sore. Then you can't apply the Acyclovir cream which is the only thing that really helps shorten the lifespan of the cold sore. And finally, when you take the plaster off, it pulls the top layer of the sore off with it, thereby undoing the healing that's started happening.

I am an expert in this as have suffered badly for years. I take oral aciclovir but the key with any treatment of coldsores is to treat as soon as you feel the tingling start, whether that be with oral medication or topical cream. The point you are at now I expect there is no going back so the only thing that is going to help is ice. Depending on how much time you have and whether it's possible to do at work, wrap ice up in kitchen roll and apply to it for as long as possible. Just keep applying the ice, that will reduce the swelling and stop the coldsore getting any bigger but it does need to be applied almost constantly for best results. For future outbreaks if you are worried, you can also look at light therapy options, I have used these effectively in the past but again it's all about catching it at the very beginning. Good luck, I feel for you having one in this heat.

Compeed patches are rubbish, they peel and are stiff, then when you pull it off, it takes half your coldsore with it leaving it a weeping mess.

I use Herpotherm - a heat zapping lipstick type device. Since using I have never had a tingle develop into a blister. Apparently it’s good for reducing length of time of outbreak as well if you don’t catch the tingle in time.

The medication is oral acyclovir. Not so easy to get on prescription just for a general cold sore though. I've seen people given it just before their wedding or if the cold sore is really bad.

Sudocrem or nappy rash cream. Works much better than zovirax

Sorry OP but I've had very regular bad cold sores my whole life and I haven't found anything speeds healing. If anything, I've found touching it repeatedly to apply cream makes it worse. Compeed patches are just stickers that go over it, they don't speed healing in my experience. Cold sores don't need oxygen so they can't be suffocated as pp says. If it's a bad sore pus will collect under the sticker and start running down, it looks horrible. People will put any random thing, eg, toothpaste or sudocream, on a cold sore and say it worked but it really doesn't. You just have to wait for your body to defeat the virus and heal the sore.

Compeed patches, and you can now get an oral medication which does head them off if you take it quickly enough. Might be too late but see if you can get some.

I get horrible cold sores with masses of swelling, usually triggered by the sun and wind.

A cold sore is an infection with herpes simplex virus, shingles herpes zoster. What's the problem with using correct term?

You can now get medication for coldsores. Not sure of the name, but it works amazingly

If I had a bad coldsore I'd be tempted to call in sick tbh