DD gets 4 cold sores a month

[pinkyh]

Hi all,

My DD(5) seems to be really struggling with getting cold sores every month. She would heal from one then days later another one comes out. She caught the virus when she was 16 months old and since then they've been coming out once every 1-2 months but the last 6 months have been absolutely ridiculous.. gets them every week + impetigo to throw in. I feel so sorry for her. We do our best to treat with all sorts of cold sore creams / patches even prescribed fusidic acid for it. But nothing works. GP says there's nothing to do about it. But I honestly can't live like this. My heart breaks for her as she's such a gorgeous child and always with awful sores around her mouth.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you so much everyone for taking time to give us some advice. I will be on the phone to the GP in the morning and hopefully they take us seriously. I will ask for Acyclovir tablets
Or anything that she could take. Zinc supplements is a good shout too. Will buy her some in the morning. She takes a multivitamin daily but I can see it doesn't contain zinc.

Thank you to everyone! I hope we can get to the bottom of this and get rid of the weekly cold sores. X

L-lysine will be better than zinc. You just need to check if it's ok for children to take:

www.healthline.com/health/lysine-for-cold-sore#dosage

You shouldn't take since supplements constantly as it can mess up your copper-zinc balance. Taking them for a,period to support the immune system would be fine (but brill only he effective if you are low in zinc).

www.livestrong.com/article/468441-can-children-take-lysine/

DS had them from babyhood and had phases of frequent sores.using the cream from the earliest tingles and avoiding triggers when possible helped.

I've had the tablets and they are a game changer.

Not sure if they are suitable for kids though

Your poor DD, cold sores are awful

Lysine is the best thing - I used to have 4 cold sores a month and now probably have one every six months.

Second lysine if you children can take it. Nothing else ever worked for me, I don't get the tingling so only know once I have a blister. I developed them in my teens and got them quite often, hardly get them now unless very fun down. Lysine seems to dry them up quickly in my experience. It will dry better, as your child's immune system builds up defence against them, they will be become less severe and frequent. Sorry your dealing with this, they are so annoying and painful.

To echo a previous poster - virasorb is £1.50 in Poundland versus Zoravix at £5

you can also ask the dr to prescribe bigger tubes of the cream - maybe 10g from memory

did you find anything that helped at all?

Is it worse from march to July? Could be an allergy.
try anti histamines and protropic. If children can have it.

@pinkyh did you find anything that worked for your DD?

When it starts to come out/tingle dab it with tea tree oil using a q-tip. Repeat until it goes/doesn't come out. It seems to activate the immune system and dry them out. The creams often keeps things too wet for the wound to heal. It's an antiseptic so helps around the zone not to spread also. Lots of hand washing before and after. Should see them be less frequent or last less.

I used to be like that when i was younger. Id be off school they would be so bad. No advice really, just I did grow out of them and rarely get them now, still do get them when run down but not often. Horrible things they are x

Ask to see a different doctor. Say you've lost confidence in your GP and you need to see a doctor who is good with paediatrics and skin conditions

Hi, I suffered from coldsores all the way through childhood to early 30's then I read a article about a machine you hold over the cold sore which kills the virus, slows it's progression and helps prevent further breakouts, the article was written by Sali Hughes in the guardian

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2012/oct/26/Beauty-autumn-saviour

I bought the machine about £39 at the time from boots. This was about 9 yrs ago
I went from getting coldsores every month consistently to one every 2-3yrs.

I know they don't sell them anymore in boots but I have seen them on amazon recently as I was worried what I would do if this one ever broke, it's literally changed my life!

I hope this helps your little girl as much as this helped me.

I cannot help with cold sores but I did want to ask if the little one is run down. Is she a fussy eater who may be missing out on nutrients, or does she maybe not get enough sleep? Sorry. Not much help I know. Wishing you both all the best. xx

This was me as a child and right until my mid twenties when I first discovered tablets. No cream would work, absolutely useless for me. I took the tablets for a few months and it totally broke the cycle. I still get them occasionally but intake the tablets straight away now to nip it on the bud. It's totally normal in other countries to take the tablets yet they seem to hate giving them out here!
Push for the tablets if you can. Many of my childhoods memories are around the pain of cold sores (I was hospitalised twice). They are awful things and my whole body hurt when I had them.

Aciclovir tablets

Cutting down on dairy products seems to reduce flare ups, I hope this helps.

Call the Herpes virus association:
https://herpes.org.uk/

acyclovir ABSOLUTELY works - my ex went from a nasty attack a couple of times a year, to basically never. He took it preventatively, and then had a boosted dose if he felt an attack coming on.

I hate to say it, but for him a trigger was chocolate - even a sprinkle on the top of a cappuccino.

For prevention, I found lip balm with licorice extract really helps. I put it on when I go to bed, so it is on for a longer time. Really reduced the frequency. Has to be proper extract, not flavour or aroma.

I 100% recommend L-lycine. This stopped my cold sores and if when I used to get them as soon as I could feel it tingle I would take them and it wouldn’t develop.

I used to suffer badly with them, found ice wrapped in cloth and applied at the first tingle stopped them developing. How are you to know when she feels the tingle though, poor little love.
Teach her to use an ice op on it, three times a day. Eating it is the bonus.

I haven't had one since taking Vit D3. Does she still get them during Summer? Some only get them in Winter, others say it's the sun that activates their cold sores. So very individual.
Vitamins and minerals won't kill the virus, but boost the immune system to fight it from presenting as a cold sore.
I would rather try a multi vitamin including D3 on my five year old, than use strong creams.

A red laser cat toy does exactly the same and they are 1.99 lol. Boots are a world famous rip off. The cat toy is non burning but its the light intensity that kills the virus. Great idea though. Just NEVER look at the beam.