Are cold-sore remedies (eg blistex) suitable for young children?

[andaRubberDuckinapeartree]

The dses (6 and 3) have been very run down this week and now ds1 is complaining of a sore lip. From his description, I've got a nasty feeling that it's a cold sore coming Can blistex be used on young children? Can't see anything on the packaging that says either way.

I'm no expert but I would say it's ok, as it is not a pharmacy only thing.

My pharmacist refused to let me have anything, even Blistex, for dd's cold sores when she was under 5 - she said the only thing suitable was copious amounts of Vaseline. If it gets really bad a GP can prescribe Zovirax but they don't like doing so as children usually just lick it off, and it's not meant to be ingested.

I don't find zovirex works anyway. Lots of vaseline, and maybe think about ways to help stop them becoming run down (that can be hard I know).

alcohol or perfume

would Sudocreme help to take away the dryness? I'm using it for ds's red and scabby nose and mouth atm

alcohol or perfume on a cold sore? Wouldn't that hurt and dry out the lips too much?

Alcohol or perfume would sting like buggery ... would be very harsh on a young child's lips.

southeastastra - I think you meant to post that on the plaster thread

thread entitled:'is it baby oil that gets left over plaster gunk off legs?'

Lots of people swear by perfume or aftershave for cold sores though, because it dries them out - which is what SEA might be thinking of. It's too harsh for a little one though, I would have thought ... and it really does sting (have used it myself).

lol no, it works

maybe I'll try the alcohol on myself! I remember having a huge mouth ulcer one time that just wouldn't go away. Then one night I went out and drank vodka - the mouth ulcer disappeared totally!

Yeah, I've never found zovirax to work, but usually blistex does the job if got early enough. Interesting that the pharmacist said no, though, wigwambam. Presumably would be okay for ds1 (aged 6) but not if ds2 comes down with them?

Feel bad because I'm always getting cold sores the second I get run down, and I've obviously passed the virus down