That’s my actual mouth up there.
YUCK!!!
I’ve been getting cold sores since I was really little. I remember one year in high school or middle school (when some parents let their kids stay home from school with a zit. Um, not my mom) I had a cold sore on my top AND bottom lip at the same time.
People called me “Ducky.” It was an impressionable time when I went home and cried.
They always come when I least want them around. But, I have found a remedy that I LOVE.
They in no way pay me for this little advertisement, I’m just a really big fan. It is seriously the best remedy I have found in my decades of being prone to the nasty little sores. I always have one in my purse, make up bag, medicine cabinet and car because I never want to feel one coming on without the ability to immediately slather on the Abreva.
The last time I bought it, the Walgreens cashier told me a little known fact about it. This product is the most stolen of any items in Walgreens (followed by condoms). So, I guess there are several of us out there fighting this battle. Some a little less honest than others.
Here’s a few more tips:
1. Cover it.
Even if you don’t have or don’t believe in the magic of the above product, you should cover your cold sore. Use Petroleum Jelly, Blistex, Aquaphor or something like that. The more moist you can keep it, the less painful it will be.
2. Change Your Tooth Brush.
Yup. The little buggers are very contagious. Take every precaution or you’ll be fighting one after another after another after another.
3. Do NOT touch it. And for goodness sake, do not peel it.
Resist the temptation. Popping, peeling, poking it will only anger it and make it declare war on your lips and your happiness.
4. Licorice
Say what? I don’t really like the stuff, but studies show that some acid in licorice may help stop the cold sore virus. So, if you like it – try it! But be sure you have the ‘real’ stuff. Most US licorice is candy not actually made from licorice powder.
5. Milk
Soak your little enemy in milk to relieve the pain.
Some say vitamins can help, but my doctor says that’s not really true. My one-year-old son has gotten some on his back. I’m sad that he’ll be another soldier in the war against this Cold Sore enemy.
It might be time to buy the Abreva by the case.