Treating a cold sore with these time-proven methods will give you quick, lasting success. Read this informative article now. You will get some proven and excellent techniques for treating a cold sore.
Treating a cold sore is never fun. Cold sores seem to happen at the worst times. They are ugly, painful and a big inconvenience. And they can be difficult to treat, especially when you have a busy schedule.
One good thing about cold sores - they form on the surface of your skin where you can easily take care of them. If they were an internal sore, like some diseases, they could be life threatening.
Treating a cold sore successfully means you must adjust the treatment based on the stage of your cold sore symptoms.
These are the variations of cold sore treatment methods for each symptom.
1. The first cold sore symptom is the itching stage. This tingling sensation indicates the movement of the herpes virus to the surface to replicate. This virus enters thousands of nerve cells, each one becoming a virus factory.
Applying ice, or any cold object, improves comfort. It also greatly discourages the virus and can actually prevent the cold sore from occurring.
2. Once the virus actually enters the cells, swelling begins to occur. Cold application is still the best treatment at this stage. Apply for 15 minutes at a time. This always helps swelling, and does give some comfort.
3. During the next stage, the open wound appears. This is because of the devastation of thousands of cells by the herpes virus. Ice no longer is the best treatment for your cold sore. Your wound is now in the healing stages.
You can still use ice to reduce heat and swelling. But application of cold does tend to slow healing of cold sores or any wound.
The most important part of treating a cold sore at this point is to keep the wound sterile. You should cleanse the wound with peroxide or alcohol. You can get throw-away alcohol swabs from the diabetes section of your drug store. These are very handy. They can be carried in purse or pocket.
One very popular treatment, for this stage, is a product called Campho-Phenique. It numbs the sore for more comfort, and it combats infections.
4. Treating a cold sore, from this point on, calls for applying warmth as much as possible. This will speed healing by bringing more blood to the area.
Continued cleansing of the sore will speed healing and help prevent re-infection. Keep using the comfort treatment of your choice. These drug store treatments may not speed up the healing process, but do provide blessed relief.
HOW TO APPLY HEAT. To apply healing warmth, you can use a washcloth or paper towel dipped in hot water. You also can dampen the washcloth and warm up in your microwave. Just be careful not to burn your skin.
You might want to try treating a cold sore by applying a warm, wet tea bag. You get the benefit of healing warmth to shorten the cold sore duration. You also will find the tea plant has ingredients especially good for quickly healing cold sores.
WORD OF CAUTION. Your cold sores, and the herpes virus responsible for them, are very contagious. This is true not only for infecting others, but other spots on your body as well.
Each cold sore family creates cold sores in the same area. If you have a cold sore on your nose, and one on your lip, these are caused by two separate cold sore infections. The most troublesome is spreading it to your eyes. This can cause permanent vision loss.
When treating a cold sore, be careful not to touch the sore with your fingers. Use cotton balls or tissues to cleanse and apply any treatment. Always wash your hands after working on the sore. Hand sanitizing gel is great insurance against spreading the cold sore.
Remember, apply cold when the cold sore is forming, and warmth when it is healing. Keep it clean and keep from touching the area with your bare fingers while treating a cold sore.
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