Treatment and Prevention of Common Skin Conditions: Cold Sores

by Rob Greenhalf

sores or fever blisters are formed when a kind of viral infection hits the skin and nervous system. This skin condition is usually caused by herpes virus, which can lay dormant in the body and becomes active later when something triggers it - and they're contagious. They are sometimes confused with impetigo, which usually develops between the nose and upper lip. The fluid that weeps from impetigo is cloudy and honey-colored. Areas where sores do not develop are inside the mouth, where canker sores may appear as ulcers on the soft tissues but they are not contagious.

As prophylactic step for the management of cold sore, always wash your hands well. Acyclovir (Zovirax) is a drug effective in reducing the duration of stay of this skin condition. However, treatment may include topical creams or ointments or sometimes antiviral medicines (such as acyclovir or famciclovir). If you have to manage accompanying pain, take paracetamol or take the help of witch hazel and apply on the sores. This local application medicine is a good anesthetic too. It is important to have a hearty yet balanced diet which is in no way deficit in vitamins A, C, E, zinc and iron, as this helps in boosting your immune system and combating this skin condition. You also need to do away with overtly salty, spicy or acidic foods and drinks which could harm the sores.

To prevent this skin condition, make your diet plan without salty or spicy foods. Some of the foods where you need to have only limited quantities include chocolates, peanuts, grains, peas, seeds, oatmeal and whole-wheat rich in arginine. Do completely without tea and coffee and make your diet vitamin-rich.

Take some ice and rub it on the sore for a few minutes and do this again every hour and this is one of the very effective home remedies for the management of this skin condition. You could also place tea bags on the sore area for a few minutes and do this every hour. Another option is to hold a warm tea bag on the blisters for half an hour.

You can get great relief from sores if you apply witch hazel on them. Take cover from sun-related cold sores by using sunscreen on the lips and arrest the recurrence of this skin condition.

When you mix 100ml of coconut oil, 2ml of disinfectant, and 3ml of carbolic acid you could expect fantastic results. Put this on the cold sores twice a day. Some even recommend this for other skin conditions, for example treating boils and mosquito bites.

A tried and tested home remedy for cold sores is having tea tree oil as a drink with herbal sage and violet. These ingredients are mixed together with a couple sage leaves and ginger powder, and put in with a cup of boiling water. If you want this skin condition to simply go away in a short span of couple of days, drink this at least 2 to 3 times a day.

When everything fails for you, 3 acidophilus pills twice a day in the morning and evening could work wonders and dry and clear up. When this skin condition bothers you often try taking 2 pills a day. Of course this by no means is an exhaustive list of home remedies for cold sores, but some of the commonly used methods.

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