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How to Get Rid of Cold Sores

By Brett Kitchen

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 26Jul2009 Word count: 688 Viewed: 1515 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Wouldn't it be great if you could say, "Abbra Ca Dabra - Cold sore, disappear!"

Although David Copperfield or Houdini have no power over cold sores, you do have some power to control them.

There are 3 main tricks that can be used to eliminate cold sores.

- Avoid triggering an outbreak - Apply a preparation to the sore once it has formed - Prevent the cold sore from developing in the first place

The first trick is to avoid a situation that could trigger an outbreak. A cold sore will usually start when your resistance is lowered. Some of the situations that bring on an episode are: - Illness; a cold, the flu or a sore throat (This is where the terms "cold sore" and "fever blister" come from because one often gets a sore after having a fever or a cold) - Exposure to the elements, such as sun and wind

- Stress (physical or emotional)

- A blemish (pimple) near the lips

- A runny nose

- Dental work

- The menstrual cycle

The problem with this method is that you can not always avoid a trigger situation and even if you can, it only reduces the likelihood of an attack. It's no guarantee that a cold sore won't appear.

The second trick is to apply some sort of preparation to the sore once it has surfaced.

These range from prescription drugs, and over the counter salves to home remedies.

There are many different salves, ointments, or preparations that have been used with varying degrees of success.

Here is a partial list of items that can be tried: Ice Rubbing alcohol Finger nail polish remover (acetone) Hydrogen peroxide Hand sanitizer Mouthwash Aftershave Cologne Clearasil Bath soap Toothpaste Salt Sulfur from unburned match heads Deodorant Vinegar Bleach Jack Daniels. Vaseline Neosporin Campho phenique Aloe Vera Mentholatum Abreva Chap stick Desitin Orajel Lip balm Ear wax Your own skin oil Chopped garlic, or garlic pieces Tea tree oil Green tea bag Frozen tea bag Dried Instant coffee made into a paste with a little water Pepto Bismal Whole milk Eucalyptus oil Preparation H Hydrocortisone Green Papaya Sap Benadryl applied topically with lip balm Calamine lotion

The effectiveness of these applications varies from one person to another and even from one outbreak to another.

Proponents of these preparations say that healing time is significantly reduced. However studies have shown that normal healing time is reduced by only a few days. Claims of cutting healing time in half have been shown to be misleading.

In fact many people, including myself, have noticed that some ointments even make the outbreak worse.

The problem with applying any kind of treatment to an active cold sore is that the best that you can hope for is to shorten the healing time and perhaps reduce the pain.

And usually you still experience all of the stages of a cold sore outbreak.

In the meantime you suffer from a painful and ugly sore lasting from several days to two weeks.

The third trick is to prevent the sore from forming in the first place. This is the one that I use now, having tried the other two for over 30 years, and I feel very blessed to be able to defeat the cold sores rather than suffer through them.

Now, when a cold sore attacks, the worst condition I experience is a red area about the size of a pencil eraser for a few days. I never have the blisters, open weeping sore, or scabbing anymore.

The advantages with this method are:

- There is no ugly painful and embarrassing sore to deal with.

- There are no salves, ointments or preparations that need to be applied several times a day.

- And it is not complicated or expensive.

- Best of all it works.

The vitamins and supplements can be purchased at your local health food or drug store very inexpensively without a prescription.

Although my cold sores do not disappear with the wave of a wand, my new found formula makes them vanish into thin air with a minimum of effort on my part.

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