With treatment options varying from home remedies, to prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, choosing from the list of available cold sore remedies can be a daunting task for the estimated 145 million Americans who suffer from oral herpes outbreaks. There are some general guidelines that can be followed to increase your chance of success, however.
When choosing from the varied treatments available to you, it is important to remember that none of them will cure you of the herpes virus that causes cold sores and canker sores. With this fact in mind, you must consider that you are only looking for the remedy that best treats your symptoms.
While this article provides a top-line summary of the major treatment options available, deciding which is best for you depends entirely upon your personal circumstances. As mentioned, none of these treatments will cure HSV-1, but each is considered an effective method of reducing the duration of cold sore outbreaks, and the pain associated with them.
Recognized Home Remedies
As any quick search on the internet will show, everyone has their own home remedy for treating cold sores associated with the HSV-1 virus. Because it would be impossible to prove or debunk the effectiveness of each of them (or even to list all of them), we will focus on only those recognized as legitimate by the medical community. The following home remedies have been proven to reduce discomfort from cold sores, as well as their healing time:
* Mouth wash that includes baking soda
* Applying light pressure to the sores with a wet, cold towel
* Use of L-lysine ointment, or taking of L-lysine pills (1,500 mg - 3,000 mg/day)
* Topically applying Vitamin E to the cold sores
* Taking Zinc tablets (max. 60 mg/day during outbreaks) or topically applying Zinc Oxide cream
* Taking Tylenol (not recommended for children under age 20) or Ibuprofen
Best of the Over-the-Counter Cold Sore Remedies
A trip to your local drug store makes available to you any number of topical ointments and creams designed to alleviate the discomfort associated with cold sores. For the purposes of this article, we will not focus on any particular brand (each has its own subjective argument as to why it's better than its competitors), but instead on those ingredients that are known to be effective in relieving the itching, burning and general discomfort caused by cold sores. Regardless of which over-the-counter brand you choose to buy, make sure that it contains one of the following:
* Docosanol 10%
* Benzocaine 5% - 20%
* Lidocaine 0.5% - 4%
* Tetracaine 2%
* Dibucaine 0.25% - 1%
Cold Sore Remedies Available by Prescription
If your cold sore symptoms are severe enough that you wish to see a physician and seek the strongest treatment available, you will have the option of being prescribed either topical cream or pills. It is important to note that, although ointments reduce pain and discomfort in areas where sores are already present, they are not as effective as pills in terms of reducing the duration and severity of breakouts or speeding the healing process. For this reason, prescription-strength pills are usually the preferred option for treatment.
The three FDA-approved drugs prescribed in pill form are:
* Acyclovir (Zovirax)
* Valacyclovir (Valtrex)
* Famciclovir (Famvir)
With a little research and trial-and-error, you should be able to sort through the cold sore remedies mentioned in this article and find the right one for you. Wherever you end up, however, just remember that the treatment will only affect your symptoms - it will not cure you of the herpes virus. By finding an effective treatment, it will allow you to endure your cold sore outbreaks more painlessly as your body's immune system builds up its tolerance to future outbreaks.
When choosing from the varied treatments available to you, it is important to remember that none of them will cure you of the herpes virus that causes cold sores and canker sores. With this fact in mind, you must consider that you are only looking for the remedy that best treats your symptoms.
While this article provides a top-line summary of the major treatment options available, deciding which is best for you depends entirely upon your personal circumstances. As mentioned, none of these treatments will cure HSV-1, but each is considered an effective method of reducing the duration of cold sore outbreaks, and the pain associated with them.
Recognized Home Remedies
As any quick search on the internet will show, everyone has their own home remedy for treating cold sores associated with the HSV-1 virus. Because it would be impossible to prove or debunk the effectiveness of each of them (or even to list all of them), we will focus on only those recognized as legitimate by the medical community. The following home remedies have been proven to reduce discomfort from cold sores, as well as their healing time:
* Mouth wash that includes baking soda
* Applying light pressure to the sores with a wet, cold towel
* Use of L-lysine ointment, or taking of L-lysine pills (1,500 mg - 3,000 mg/day)
* Topically applying Vitamin E to the cold sores
* Taking Zinc tablets (max. 60 mg/day during outbreaks) or topically applying Zinc Oxide cream
* Taking Tylenol (not recommended for children under age 20) or Ibuprofen
Best of the Over-the-Counter Cold Sore Remedies
A trip to your local drug store makes available to you any number of topical ointments and creams designed to alleviate the discomfort associated with cold sores. For the purposes of this article, we will not focus on any particular brand (each has its own subjective argument as to why it's better than its competitors), but instead on those ingredients that are known to be effective in relieving the itching, burning and general discomfort caused by cold sores. Regardless of which over-the-counter brand you choose to buy, make sure that it contains one of the following:
* Docosanol 10%
* Benzocaine 5% - 20%
* Lidocaine 0.5% - 4%
* Tetracaine 2%
* Dibucaine 0.25% - 1%
Cold Sore Remedies Available by Prescription
If your cold sore symptoms are severe enough that you wish to see a physician and seek the strongest treatment available, you will have the option of being prescribed either topical cream or pills. It is important to note that, although ointments reduce pain and discomfort in areas where sores are already present, they are not as effective as pills in terms of reducing the duration and severity of breakouts or speeding the healing process. For this reason, prescription-strength pills are usually the preferred option for treatment.
The three FDA-approved drugs prescribed in pill form are:
* Acyclovir (Zovirax)
* Valacyclovir (Valtrex)
* Famciclovir (Famvir)
With a little research and trial-and-error, you should be able to sort through the cold sore remedies mentioned in this article and find the right one for you. Wherever you end up, however, just remember that the treatment will only affect your symptoms - it will not cure you of the herpes virus. By finding an effective treatment, it will allow you to endure your cold sore outbreaks more painlessly as your body's immune system builds up its tolerance to future outbreaks.
About the Author:
Learn more about Cold Sore Remedies and other related issues on Devin Brindinshire's site What Is Herpes.
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