Anxiety over cold sores recurrent break out

[2stixoftwix]

Ok this is going to sound mad.

My daughter has been having recurrent cold sores for the last year (it used to be about 3 per year now its every month)
poor child spends 4 days a month with a plaster on her lip, followed by another 2 with a scab.

She takes vitamins and minerals every day, extra zinc, extra vit c, lysine and they still appear.

Because its been so regular, I have goggled it a lot and have been reading stories of people who have suffered their whole lives with them, and I guess its possible she is going to be one of them.

However I seem to have worked myself up so much that I have that sick feeling, and the knot in my stomach.
I wake up thinking about cold sores and fall asleep thinking about them.
I know how common they are - and there is nothing to be ashamed of, however this isn't stopping the worry

Has anyone experienced this fear for your child, that just won't go away, I know she is normally healthy and happy compared to some of her friends who have real illnesses, I'm just not dealing with it very well - though I don't show my feelings to her.

I guess its manifested as anxiety, I need to get a grip on myself but don't know how.

Any advice would be very welcome. I feel like i'm addicted to thinking about them.

This is me once I get one it'll keep getting friends. The best thing I had was tablets I had off the doctor I took one when I had a tingle. I've also had success with homeopathic medicine they came in a little green tube like sugar tablets I can't remember what they are called but if you are interested I'll look them up.

DD has suffered with cold sores since she was about 5, she's 18 now. Just before christmas, she went to the doctors as she had been quite unwell and she just happened to have a cold sore as well. She usually gets them when she's run down or had a cold or something.

Anyway, as luck would have it, she saw the doctor who was a dermatology expert and he offered to put her on a course of tablets, which she had to take every day for 3 months, in the hope that they would stop. It was a bit of an experiment to be honest, as he was doing a paper on genital herpes, but thought it might work just as well!

It has worked. She hasn't had one, since December. She has occasionally thought she was going to get one, but it has amounted to nothing.

The tablets she took, were just aciclovir, which is the active ingredient in cold sore cream.

Might be worth seeing if you can get your GP to do something similar? You don't mention how old your DD is though, so tablets may not be an option yet of course.

It's definitely worth visiting your GP. I get recurrent coldsores, but they are contained (usually chased up my nose) by topical lysine ointment. If I was struggling as much as your DD, I'd definitely want to try something more robust, though.

sonlypuppyfat they're called sugar tablets

I know how all consuming a fear for your child's health can be and I feel for you. Google will not help. It will make you feel worse and give you more to fret over, rather than less.

Take your dd to the Gp next time she gets one and explain how frequent they have become. I'm sure there's something they can give her.

thank you, I have heard of the tablets I guess I am worried (again) that the virus would become immune to the tablets and would not work.

I will take her to the doctor and see what can be done

I know that google can be friend and enemy and I know that this is the root of my anxiety. too much information is not helpful.

My dd is 10, I have never suffered from cold sores, neither has my husband it was something she caught at preschool (I'm guessing), and had 3 outbreaks per year upto age 9 - now they come every month.

The last one looked horrible stuck under a compeed plaster, all her school friends were asking what it was, even I thought it looked gross.

I know this sounds horrible but when I asked her if any of her friends had them, I was quite relieved when she named two others. Also her teacher had one.

I know most of the population will get the virus, and that a large % will get cold sores often.
But it still doesn't quell my fear
She is getting to that age when appearance is becoming important.

I need to get a grip on myself.
The only positive is that this week because of the anxiety I have been feeling means I haven't been able to eat much, great diet !!!!!!

sonlypuppyfat, yes please - if you can find the name of the homeopathic medicine I will be grateful

I have lysine lip balm, lemon lip balm, olive leaf.

so something else to add to my collection !