Don't worry you are not alone, of course, most of us have been infected by a cold sore or have one. You certainly searched about cold sore treatment home remedies in the infection time. So we need to learn some about this.
First, do you know what a cold sore is?
Cold sore is a viral infection also called (fever blister).
It's a tiny, fluid-filled blister that appears on and around the lips.
It may group forming patches.
It forms scabs after a breakdown which can last for many days.
The healing occurs during 2-3 weeks without leaving a scar.
Before you search for a cold sore treatment home remedy you need to know about the cause.
Let's know about the causes of infection:
Cold sore occurs by infection by Herpes simplex virus mainly type 1( HSV-1) and less commonly type 2( HSV-2). Both of these viruses can infect the mouth and genitals.
Almost 90% of Americans carry the virus but not all have symptoms.
Routes of transmission of this virus:
-
Close contact with an infected person such as ( kissing ).
-
Oral-genital contact
-
Transmitted from mother to her infant during delivery causes neonatal herpes.
So, be careful about that.
Now we must know about the symptoms so that we can see if it is a cold sore.
Symptoms of a cold sore:
-
Itching and burning. you can feel itching and tingle on or around the lips.
-
Small, hard, painful spots may appear on the infected area.
-
Blisters (small fluid-filled formation) erupt on the lips border, around the nose or inside the mouth.
-
Crusts, blisters can convert to crusts.
If you have a cold sore for the first time, symptoms may not start once you get the virus, but you need up to 20 days to allow symptoms to appear. When sores appear that may last for several days, then blisters may take 2-3 weeks to completely heal.
If it is recurrent again it will occur at the same spot each time but it will be less painful than the first.
As you know, any virus infection has typically some main symptoms as:
-
Fever
-
Headache
-
Muscle aches
-
Swollen lymph nodes
And add in this case:
-
Painful gum
-
Sore throat
Now we recognize the cause and symptoms.
Let's know about:
Cold sore treatment home remedy:
There are many ways to treat it at home.
The best remedies for treatment:
-
Ice
-
Aloe Vera
-
Sunscreen
-
Lemon balm
-
OTC antiviral
-
Stress reduction
Ice
Use the ice back directly on the cold sore for a few seconds and repeat it many times until you feel better.ice back helps to reduce pain and redness. It considered one of the best cold sore home remedy.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera can be grown at home as a houseplant.
Use aloe Vera gel directly on the cold sore.
It acts as an anti-inflammatory and antiviral.
Sunscreen
It can protect your lips while the cold sore is healing and reduce future outbreaks if you use it daily on your lips.
Lemon balm
It can be used to reduce swelling and redness of cold sores and protect your lips in the future.
OTC antiviral
(Over-the-counter antiviral medication)
These are medications that contain benzyl alcohol and can reduce the duration of the cold sore.it presents in a cream form that is used topically.
Stress reduction
Of course, stress affects your immunity that enables microbes to invade your body. So, try to avoid the reason for stress or even try to reduce it. Try to do exercises daily that can help you.
Of course, the previous cold sore treatment home remedy may help you in simple cases, but if you have the cold sore several times per year, or they spread to different areas of your body, or have recovered from cancer you must visit your doctor at once.
And we can say, prevention is better than the cure
What can you do to prevent the infection?
You can do the following:
-
Avoid intimate contact with others as kissing or skin-to-skin contact until the healing occurs.
-
If the sun exposure irritates the lesion try to avoid it and use sunscreen on the lesion.
-
Wash your hands each time you touch the cold sore or apply the ointment.
-
Don't pick up the blisters.
-
Don't share cosmetics as foundation or lipstick.
-
Don't share your personal care tools like a toothbrush
-
Replace your care items like towels and toothbrushes when you get an infection and then when you recover to prevent infection again.
Summary
Be attended to if you need to avoid infection at all, you must protect your immunity.
Try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating as healthy as you can and exercising regularly.
If you have stress try stress-relief techniques such as meditation, yoga and journaling.
You must be logged in to post a comment.