The Best Cold Sore Medication

Nearly 80 per cent of the population of the western world have antibodies against the Herpes Simplex HSV-1 in their bodies, the virus that causes cold sores.

Still millions of people suffer from these painful and unsightly outbreaks every year.

The virus causes the formation of liquid filled blisters or red patches near the nose, mouth and lips during an outbreak. As there are many cause for the Virus to start propagating and causing the outbreak, people find it difficult to prevent the outbreaks effectively.

The symptoms vary from case to case, but usually involve an unpleasant tingling or burning feeling in the infected areas, to be followed in a short time by liquid filled blisters and redness. After a few weeks, it seems to heal, forming scabs over the affected areas. These scabs protect what is essentially a wound, and eventually fall off when healing is complete.

When you first notice the little bumps that will become blisters, a visit to the doctor will usually get a correct diagnosis and a prescription for a drug that will attack the symptoms created by the virus, to alleviate the condition, for faster relief.

Most doctors prescribe a treatment such as 5 per cent aciclovir cream applied to the affected area for a period of 5 days with a frequency of four to five times daily. This should drastically shorten the period of the outbreak and the contagious period, if applied and regularly used from the first appearance of symptoms.
These drugs can be obtained over the counter and have names such as Zovirax.

To reduce the chance of future re-occurrences, you may also obtain anti Herpes (antiviral)  medications in tablet form.

Although the virus will be permanently present in your body after the first outbreak, its flaring up can be controlled by various methods and it seems to affect different people very differently. Aging seems to reduce the outbreak frequency as well.

Remember though that a stress reduced healthy lifestyle without exposure to harsh environments or other infected people will do a lot to reduce your dependency on Cold sore medications.