I haven't been out in ages and tonight I am going on a Hen Night and yes you guessed it I have a HUGE Cold sore on my bottom lip. I look like a cross between a Bo Selecta character and Leslie Ash cos it's swollen! :gag:

How can I get rid of it quickly or at least reduce the swelling.

I know as the evening progresses I won't be too bothered because of copious amounts of Vodka will have had an effect so even a temporary solution would be good.

Please any suggestions would be appreciated and if anyone from the forum is out around Sheffield Tonight - you won't be able to miss me - I will be the girl with her bottom lip being used as a table!:(

Zovirax cold sore treatment is good.
My husband woke up with a huge cold sore yesterday. It hasn't got rid of the cold sore altogether but the swelling has gone down.

I think Zovirax is best used at the first sign of a cold sore but it's certainly made a big difference to his. :)

Ive heard of that stuff, quite expensive so glad to know it works before I shell out for it.

It's a real problem for me tonight as mine has got a lovely crusty covering over it which after a few vodkas to help numb the pain I intend to pick off so my lip stick looks smooth!

Oh boy do i sound attractive or what!!:gag:

DONT PICK IT OFF!!!!
firstly you will stop it healing, secondly the herpes virus is evil, you could pass it on to other parts of your body (even your fingers!!!) and that would be even worse. I know its frustrating but try to leave it alone, if you touch it, wash your hands thoroughly straight away.
Zovirax IS expensive but it does work and worth having in generally just on case you get the early warning signs another time. I discovered that Sainsbury's at Meadowhell sold it in the drug section for about £2 cheaper than most pharmacies!!! makes a difference when you are only buying a 2g tube!!!
and remember, NO KISSING!!!!!

Hope it heals quickly

Em
xx

You'll be the one then that nobody wants to dance with until 2 when there's nowt left!!!

Have a good'un

I feel like I should walk into the pubs ringing a bell shouting UNCLEAN!!

It's a good job I am no longer single otherwise I could start a epidemic.

I think I will stick to very dark pubs and have a drink constantly at my mouth to cover it. I have a feeling I will not remember much about tonight and will be requesting help for a hang over in the morning!! :confused:

As for being the 2 o'clock girl - thats way past my bedtime nowadays!

definately i'm on board with the zovirax lot. works best when you feel it tingle (no good to you now - i know!)

what you can do to help cover it up is lippy !! it really does make a difference. i normally wear lip gloss but lippy is better for hiding it. use a touch of lip liner too then just keep touching it up. another good tip is to not touch it or try to hide it with your hands in anyway - you'll just draw attention to it.

DON'T PICK IT !! loads will come to its funeral - trust me.

Perfume or aftershave works,it dries the sore up quickly but be careful or your drinks will taste lousy all night.

I fully sympathise - I have suffered with them for years, and I know how they make you feel like a leper if you have to go out - plus they always seem to KNOW when to appear at the worst possible times!!

As already said, Zovirax is the best treatment there is. It sounds like your cold sore is quite far on (as it has scabbed), but Zovirax should still help to heal it quicker (not in time for tonight, but quicker nonetheless). Plus you'll have it in for next time - if you apply it as soon as you feel one coming then it really can stop them coming through.

Also try to remember that you are more aware of it than other people are. When you touch a cold sore with your finger it usually feels huge, but it actually tends to look much smaller than it feels. Don't point it out to anyone and I am sure that most people won't even notice it.

Zovirax is the only thing I've tried that has worked, the aftershave thing was just too painfull to be doing any good, and I'm not wasting good aftershave on a virus.

It's amazing how fast cold sores grow though, all the "apply when you feel the first tingle" stuff is fine if you have a tube on you, but in the hour it takes to get to the nearest Boots you have mutated into something out of a horror program.

Is it true you never get rid of them, they lie dormant in your nerves (or somewhere) ?

A bit of Clinque medicated cover stick usually hides them for a night, unless they're like a second head.

I never had cold sores at all until in my 30's when I started seeing my new bloke who's ex use to be riddled with them and gave the virus to him who in turn gave it to me!! Thank goodness that's all she gave us.

Mine always appear when Ive been in the sun which I was on Sunday cos I went to the Air Show at Waddington.

I will take out a dark colour lippy with me and keep putting in on and hopefully it won't be too noticeable.

If anyone comes up to me saying ' are you Dawny1?' I will know I have failed.:(

Nick, it is true, once you have one coldsore the virus is in your system forever however, some people only ever get one attack and some get recurrent ones. The virus is similar to other viruses and will attack you when you least need it; if you are ill already, stressed, tired or eating a bad diet... or sometimes just randomly cos it feels like it!!!!
They are hell, I've suffered from them for years, particularly badly while i've been at uni, and they have a habbit of appearing if i'm about to spend a week or so with they b/f (much to his frustration!!!)
My sympathies Dawny
xx

its a virus that we will always have to live with. i once got asked if i would take part in a research project looking for a cure but i couldn't spare the time.

isn't it hereditary as well ? my mum has it and i'm the only one of four kids she passed it on to :(

Put toothpaste on it. I know it sounds daft but it dries it up. xx

I can definately relate to all who said DON'T PICK IT. I picked my 1st ever coldsore loads because it looked slightly better without a big crusty scab and because i didn't know what the hell it was and where it came from.

Once picked the dam thing trebled in size and soon covered half my lip. I told anyone that asked that I'd been scratched by a dog but I'm sure they knew otherwise.

It has reappeared 3 times since then and if I don't pick it (although it is tempting) I can keep it to a minimum.

Originally posted by amz0711
Put toothpaste on it. I know it sounds daft but it dries it up. xx

Isn't toothpaste what you are also supposed to put on love bites to help them go?

Just about to have my first Vodka & Dandelion & Burdock on my quest to either numb the pain or help me not give a damn! :clap:

hmmm vodka and D&B... never tried that one *makes mental note* ;)
glad you're worrying less and at least your other half gets em too (mine doesn't and gets all paranoid) just remember not to do anything else ;););) while you have the sore or for a while afterwards, don't want to spread it elsewhere!!!! :o
Have a good night out!!

You really need to try Dandelion & Burdock it's delicious.

As for not doing anything else until it's gone!!! Do you really want to ruin my night completely!! :help:

More Vodka needed I think to go from horny to incapable!:mad:

The problem with cold sores is that you instantly come out with some lame excuse as to what it is (bee sting, cut, dog bite, alien medical experiment, conjoined twin), which just draws attention to it, people probably wouldn't have noticed until you made a big deal out of it.

They're also not like ordinary spots, they have some kind of dirty "euuughhh" factor to them, it must be the virus side of it.

I LOVE D&B, just never put it with vodka before.. :)
ohhh and not NOTHING... just nothing that will risk transmitting your coldsore to anywhere more ...erm... delicate (esp on your b/f)!!! (sorry trying to avoid too mcuh detail as its a family forum!!!)
xx

Believe me Nick2, there is no way people won't notice this huge growth but I intend on going out tonight and not mentioning it to the 30 girls I am with and see if any of them say anything because I know they would not keep quite out of politeness they are not the type to miss an opportunity to take the p**s!

Originally posted by em3978
I LOVE D&B, just never put it with vodka before.. :)
ohhh and not NOTHING... just nothing that will risk transmitting your coldsore to anywhere more ...erm... delicate (esp on your b/f)!!! (sorry trying to avoid too mcuh detail as its a family forum!!!)
xx

Oh I see what you mean and yes I have avoided that activity!:gag:

Let me know what you think to my Vodka mix once you have tried it - pity though you can't get it in pubs unless a ready mix alco pop which just isn't the same.

There are different types of cold sores. Mr strix gets the middle of the face ones, which Zovirax zaps really well, but I get the ones that give you a thick lip, and perfume works best on those.

I don't think the vodka is going to help though - unless you just rub it in and don't swallow!

Stupid idea, I know :suspect: :loopy:

Originally posted by karenjane39
[B]Zovirax cold sore treatment is good.

Zovirax's right to the 'license' for the product expired last year - you can now buy exactly the same thing for about £4 rather than £6 - It's called 'soothe lip'
I got it from lloyds chemist, but you can probably get it at any....:thumbsup:

Zorvirax is an antiviral that specifically targets the Herpes virus (oral and genital) and will work well to treat your cold sore. In the USA it's prescription only pill form (there may be some over the counter creams that contain it but I'm not sure) and 200 milligrams a day in the morning will go a LONG way to actually preventing outbreaks in the first place.

The other thing you might want to try for recovery is taking a amino acid suppliment called Lysine that you can use to speed recovery and help heal mouth tissue. You should be able to find that in any health food store or large supermarket that carries herbal suppliments. Here is a relevent link:

(Ok I'll reply again with the link because I think this is my fifth post)

Please be aware that you can spread the herpes virus even when you have no visible sores. You can also spread the herpes virus from oral to genital via oral sex and currently the actual blood test for herpes can only detect the existence of the virus, there is no way to acurrate indicate oral vs genital without an actual swab test from an outbreak blister.

Peace,

Locker

I know this is just a space filling post but I would like to post a relevent web link so I'm using this reply to boost my post count. Please excuse any inconvenience.

Here is the Lysine link I mentioned in the earlier post:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Lysinecs.html

Good luck!

Locker

Originally posted by dawny1
Mine always appear when Ive been in the sun which I was on Sunday cos I went to the Air Show at Waddington.
(

I was at Waddington and came back with a cold sore too. My mate who was workign with me did too. He calls it "Waddington Lip"

As a long term sufferer of the dreaded herpes simplex virus (30 yrs now) I can testify that L-Lysine works really well, dries 'em up in no time, and like Zov, you have to take it if you even suspect that tingle might be a tingle. But if you take it on a regular basis, leaving a month between periods every three months, you will be fine, but do check with the herbalist and instructions on the bottle.

Cold sores are related to the state of your nerves, so do as much as you can to not get stressed - not easy I know -, but also a course of the B Vits would help your nerves. Oats (the vegetal kind!) are a nervine tonic, and chamomile tea helps with everything on the planet including traffic congestion, global warming and terrorist attacks. Quick!

We went to the Australian grand prix in Melbourne in 2000 and sat in the sun all day, two days later, I got a cold sore the size of a small domestic aircraft across the whole of my bottom lip.
A nurse spotted it and helpfully said that avoiding chocolate, nuts, eggs and pork can help, as they all contain an element that destroys Lysine. You might wanna heed that one as prevention is better than cure.

I get cold sores regularly- well I did until I started taking Lyseine from the health food shop. I take one a day and hardly get them now and even if I do they don' t develop properly and heal in a day or two. The supplement helps fight the virus and it works for me- give it a try.....