How important is it to find a fast and effective cold sore treatment? Ask anyone suffering from one of these unsightly and painful fever blisters, and they’ll tell you that the would do just about anything to clear their face from this foul blemish.
However, it is easy to get confused while searching through the isles of cold sore remedies that line pharmacy shelves. And the fact is that some of those so-called cold sore remedies can actually encourage your cold sore to spread and stick around longer! Here’s what you need to know about effective cold sore treatments.
There are some treatments designed to protect the delicate skin around your lips. These topical lotions keep the cold sore moist and add a barrier guarding against it spreading. Some effective topical cold sore treatments include Abreva lip balm, Lipactin gel and Zilactin.
Prescription strength topical cold sore medications typically contain benzocaine or lidocaine. These treatments might be worth looking into if you get really painful cold sores, because not only do these medications keep your lips moist and protected, they also take away some of the pain and discomfort.
And you may be surprised to find out that some pills are actually very effective cold sore remedies. Some people use ibuprofen because it not only helps with the pain but the anti-inflammatory affect of the drug helps keep the swelling down.
And there are also some very effective oral cold sore treatments that are prescription strength. If you are plagued with regular cold sore attacks you need to speak to your doctor about getting a prescription for Valtrex or Zovirax. If you take one of these pills just as a cold sore is forming you can actually nip a cold sore attack in the bud before it even has a chance to form.
Sources http://getridofcoldsores.wordpress.com