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Original poster

please tell me how to get rid of this cold sore before I become a recluse.

19 replies

mumatron · 27/03/2012 08:03

I haven't had one for years. Its huge! I could feel it tingling yesterday so I put some cold sore cream on. woke up today and my lip looks like I've been punched :(

I have a night out planned saturday so need a miracle cure that will get rid before then.

please help me!

OP posts:
neverinamillionyears · 27/03/2012 08:04

I've used the compeed patches. They stop it spreading, getting bigger and bubbling up.

neverinamillionyears · 27/03/2012 08:05

Oh and I used a little drop if tea tree oil to dry it out.

DilysPrice · 27/03/2012 08:07

If you're desperate, you could try my old wives remedy which is a thick paste of instant coffee, applied for as long and regularly you can (until you have to leave the house). Honestly, it will sometimes get them to go away when nothing else will (and it's free if you've got any in the house).

CarpeJugulum · 27/03/2012 08:08

Yup. Second the Compeed - but if you get the night variety they seem to work better for me.

Do not be taken in by the comparative cheapness of the own brand varieties - they fall off within two minutes yes, I'm looking at you Boots!

Original poster
mumatron · 27/03/2012 08:18

Will get the patches, won't be until tonight though. Stupid work gets in the way of everything.

OP posts:
Original poster
mumatron · 27/03/2012 08:26

Oh shit! I have to get new passport photos done tomorrow! Shock

I'm going to be looking at pics of this monster for the next ten yrs aren't I?

OP posts:
thesmallestpotato · 27/03/2012 08:48

I use one of those infra red things, I must have spent a fortune on Zovirax until I got it a few years ago, you hold it over the area where the cold sore is and it does pulses of infra red for three minutes which disrupts the virus in some way and stops the coldsore growing, also stops them going all crusty, they just kind of fade away

I can't remember where mine is from and I don't have the box any more but have just had a look on Amazon and it looks like this one www.amazon.co.uk/Virulite-Cold-Sore-Machine/dp/B001R1B776/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1332834177&sr=8-4

monkeysmama · 27/03/2012 08:57

Boots sell the infrared machines and I'm sure it works a bit. I get awful coldsores and the machine has stopped a few totally and minimised others.

I use lots of Zovirax (not too much though or your face might tingle!), tea tree oil on the crust (yuck) to dry it out, and I drink loads of lemon juice in water. I've not found the Compeed plasters any good but worth a try if others recommend.

Original poster
mumatron · 27/03/2012 11:34

How much are those machines? I can't open links on my phone.

I'm using zovirax atm and it doesn't feel as sore and swollen as it it did this morning.

OP posts:
Original poster
mumatron · 28/03/2012 08:37

I put a patch on last night and it turned my lip white. is that normal?
it looks a million times worse now Confused

OP posts:
Gleek · 28/03/2012 08:50

Go to your GP and get a course of Aciclovir, stat!

Also try taking L-lysine (found naturally in tuna) and Zinc, put aloe Vera on it to prevent any scarring and take painkillers/cold compress to relieve pain.

Original poster
mumatron · 28/03/2012 08:55

is Aciclovir is in Zovirax? or can gp give me a stronger dose?

going for my stupid passport photo's in hour or so. I look ridiculous :(

OP posts:
trumpton · 28/03/2012 08:56

My light stick was only £10 from lloyds chemist. Would highly recommend one. I have had course of Acyclovir and it def helped. Also ice on it at first tingle will often stop it in its tracks. It's the sunshine that causes them for me, oh and cold and tiredness and stress and and ......

MadameMessy · 28/03/2012 08:58

I use cymex after holding a wet aspirin to it, and they usually disappear quickly.

I hate aciclovir though, and never use it

Dollydowser · 28/03/2012 09:11

Gleek is correct, Lysine in supplement form is your best bet, works from the inside out. It is an amino acid, and corrects the delicate balance between arganine and lysine (just in case you wanted to know!).

Original poster
mumatron · 28/03/2012 11:19

So I need to get an infra red light thingumy and some of the lysine supplementsm

Busy day of shopping for me then.

I needn't have worried about the cold sore on my passport pics. The fact that I look like a convict is enough to distract from it completely :(

OP posts:
Gleek · 28/03/2012 12:00

Aciclovir as an oral medicine, my GP is lovely and gives me a prescription to keep in my bag in case of emergency, start taking at first tingle and it has made a huge difference. I now get a tiny cold sore that lasts for a day or so instead of an enormous monster that lasts a week!

Hope it vanishes soon.

badtasteflump · 28/03/2012 12:06

mumatron - do your own passport pic and photoshop it.

Nickoka · 29/03/2012 16:40

Did you know that sunlight can be a trigger for cold sores? Just wondering if this lovely weather might have been a factor in you getting it now.

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