OMG a cold sore in my nose - what helps ?

[Lilliflip]

My entire left nostril inside is covered in a cold sore - I can see it up the inside and it’s huge. It’s actually coming out around the end of my nose like a revolting blistering cornflake ☹️

I get that it’s not life threatening etc, but it’s throbbing, itching, painful, making my teeth and face hurt. GP’s not interested, said unless I get 10 cold sores a year they wouldn’t give me acliclovir tablets, and I should just use Zovirax. It’s doing nothing. Pharmacist said Zovirax is all they can suggest without prescription. So dead end there.

Please can anyone tell me do they have a miracle cure to stop me ripping my own nose off?

Nail varnish on a cotton bud, controversial but it's the only thing that works on my cold sores!

S udocrem last thing at night. Should be gone in two days tops..

Nothing. Avoid applying anything and leave it alone, even helpful things aggravate it. Take painkillers, drink water, eat healthily and sleep to make it go away quicker. Take vitamin C regularly.

Willing to try anything tbh!

I do find the compeed plasters take away a bit of the pain. You can just about stick them inside your nose but it's not easy or pretty.

Thanks, it’s too big for a compeed. And it’s all the way around my nostril to the hole 😖

I used to get them on my lips, then they migrated to the mustache area and now I get them up my nose. I paid for a private prescription for aciclovir tablets. Slightest tingle and I start taking the tablets, the prescription was for 3 months but I don't take them unless I've got prodrome so the prescription has lasted me over 2 years. I can't remember what it cost but it was certainly worth it.

Sorry I know that doesn't help now but it is worth considering for the future. I never found anything else that helped.

Get to Holland and Barrett. I take l-lysine supplements when I feel a cold sore coming. They heal so fast/stopped in it's tracks from these supplements. I always suffer with cold sores when run down or hormonal changes. The last 5 or so years I barely notice them when they come now.

I feel your pain, I think I ended up with three of them stuck over one once.

Aciclovir cream

I get these, for years the GP bizarrely denied that that was even possible 🙄 I can have aciclovir if I want but I usually don't bother because of the side effects.

My warning is be very, very careful when it comes to spreading/contamination.

The fact that it's up your nose indicates your body isn't good at fighting it off. Any time you touch it it can be on your fingers and then spread to the next place you touch such as your eyes, fingers or even genitals. So avoid touching it at all costs but if you have to, wash your hands thoroughly straight away with hot water and soap and scrub the fingertips with a nailbrush. Then dry on your own handtowel, not a shared one, or use tissue and throw away. Even better, wear latex disposable gloves then discard.

Don't share any towels while you have it and don't use the same towel on your face and body. Wash your towels on 60+, not cooler, because the high temp is needed to kill the virus.

If it' possible that it may be touching your pillowcase when you sleep also change that regularly and wash at 60+. This is to stop it spreading on your face.

Rest and avoiding stress and sunlight (!) will help speed up recovery.

Maintaining a healthy diet and avoiding stress helps avoid them.

Also, I have a UV "zapper" from Boots that is really effective if you detect the tingling before the coldsore emerges, but not really after that if you miss the signs.

Boots Cold Sore lotion (don't use cream or greasy stuff). Or alcohol on a cotton bud. It dries the sore out.
Any kind of alcohol will do, if you can't get to the shops. If you use the stuff for cleaning screens/keyboards, I would dilute it a bit first as it will hurt if you use 100% strength.

It seems like the Boots light therapy zapper has been discontinued, it might be sold as "virulite" according to Google, not sure if it's the same though.

Perfume on a cotton bud and onto the sore helps me (I get them in my nose all the time... digusting). Otherwise any kind of tingle and I zovirax the heck out of the whole area. It says not to use it up your nose but fuck that, quite frankly. They hurt!!

You can do an online consultation for the prescription tablets for cold sores

they will ask for a photo of the cold sore

you fill out the online form and if accepted you can order the tablets and get them next day
once you have one lot of tablets it’s easy to re order for next time

I second alcohol to dry it out. I have used nail varnish remover successfully when desperate but prefer to use perfume.

I get these anytime I am really run down. They crack a lot so I found vaseline helps and nothing gets rid only time :(

I get nose bastards as well as lip bastards - I attack them topically with alcohol gel, liquorice extract and peppermint essential oil mixed into blister lip balm and occasional dabs of corsodyl. If you do all that early enough can sometimes head them off before they even take hold. Tea bag compress or ice cube if sore. And take lysine and eat lots of dairy. And sleep more if you can, a lot of it is about supporting your immune system.

Blistex not blister!

Appreciate all your help, in reply to a PP yes I’m not good at fighting these off as I’m immunosuppressed, but I’ve never had one in my nose before. Plus I’m run down and had a virus last week so fairly sure that’s caused it 😞
I’ve never had one this big before, or in my nose and pretty sure it’s making me feel Ill. I’ve used sudocrem, and some vodka on it to burn the bastard out. But it’s still a raging throbbing thing. Thanks all !

@Lilliflip

How odd I don't get 10 year and mine gave me alivor.

Why did he say he wouldn't give them?

Competed plaster as above v v good

It was just a really quick phone call appt, along the lines of, ‘we don’t really like prescribing these, cold sores aren’t serious and the anti virals have side effect, you would need to be getting say 10 a year for us to think about giving anti virals, so I’m comfortable for you to use Zovirax.
I just felt like an absolute time waster afterwards but the chemist said all I could buy was Zovirax, so felt that was my only option. I couldn’t really say anything in response apart from … but it hurts, looks awful and making me miserable!

@tulips27 what are side effects alivor?