Arrgggghh coldsore

[Ms82]

Went to bed last night all was well, woke up this morning to a huge cold sore taking over half of my top lip. It's horrible, last one I had was 3ish years ago, so don't get them regular but I hate them to the point it drives me kind of mental. Anyway, it's decided to show up the week before I have my first night out in 17months! It's not an ordinary night out either it's a fundraiser and tribute to a child I used to care for who passed away a few years ago, so I really want to be there. Has anyone got any tips to get rid of this thing or minimise it. I could cry anytime I feel or see it. It sounds very extreme but I could genuinely cut my lip off at the mo, it's an alien thing on my face (I have a crazy fear of things like this, also drips etc in the hospital seeing it poking out of my skin makes me vomit, I have to fight the urges to rip it out of me) please help! Xx

I suffer from cold sores too, and they always come at shit times!

I take lysine Tablets daily (from Holland and Barrett) and that’s helped with less - maybe one a year now vs 3-4

The key thing for me is just trying to leave it alone, I’m a dreadful picker but after 2 days of blistering it really does disappear quickly if I leave it alone! And a good lippy or gloss helps hide it a bit

Another one with leave as well along as possible. I use Zovirax cream when the blister first starts as I find that keeps it small and dry.
Mine always come up just in time for a big event too. I find the rimmel stay put style lipstick where you paint on the colour then gloss the top hides them well.

The Compeed cold sore plasters are really good, heal them without the unsightly scabbing - and you can cover them in make-up!

You need zilactin this stuff is bloody amazing and better than the crap we can get in uk. If the sore is already cracking be warned this will sting like a bitch for the first few seconds, but it dries down like a plastic coating so you can yawn, drink, eat and it wont crack. I get them a lot through stress and wouldnt use anything else now

Try and get your hands on some aciclovir tablets. I buy mine privately from Superdrug online doctor. They reduce the severity and the healing time for me.

Agree that Lysine is good and you should be able to get some in Holland and Barrett.

I dab witch hazel on mine.

Lemon balm oil really helps and speeds up healing time for me. Also makes it looks a little less unsightly.

I get them roughly every 5-6 weeks since pregnancy. I don't know why they've suddenly flared up so constantly, but there we are. They drive me insane, I loathe them. I do find Zovirax put on as soon as I have an inkling I'm getting one, then reapplied religiously every few hours for the first few days helps reduce the duration and size/unsightliness of them. The Compeed patches don't work for me, I tend to get them in the corners of my mouth so they always wrinkle or flake off, making it look ten times more noticeable, and I've found healing time is longer with them. I also develop eczema around the patch if I wear them too often. I know some people absolutely swear by them, though.

Resisting the urge to touch them at all helps them clear up more quickly. They're really shit and always come at rubbish times. You have my sympathy on that front.

I thoroughly second aciclovir tablets. I never just get one cold sore... I usually get minimum 6 clustered together at one time. It makes me thoroughly miserable. No cream ever worked as for me it just kept the 'scab' too moist.

The tablets are amazing. Start then ASAP and it stops it in its tracks and greatly reduces both the pain and the healing time.

I never go on holiday without them

I've suffered with coldsores for years and L-lysine is AMAZING.

The clinical evidence for it isn't robust, but anecdotally I know it helps lots of people so it could be worth a go given it's cheap and readily available in health shops?

I buy the compeed patches (the boots own band ones aren't as good). I find that they take a lot of the pain away, but they don't make them heal any faster. They do help with the unsightliness though, and you can put make up over them. It doesn't look perfect, but it is a huge improvement.

Patches patches patches .. if you put them on in the morning then they keep them smaller and they go quicker !