Cold Sore Medicine

While cold sores are not a serious condition in themselves in the majority of people, sufferers can feel stigmatized because of the presence of unsightly sores on their face. People naturally want to heal the sores as fast as they can and while they will often heal without intervention in 7-10 days, the misery caused by the condition is such that the majority of people will seek some type of treatment to accelerate healing. Researchers have found some limited success in discovering treatments, but there remains a long way to go in cold sore medicine as the products available help ease symptoms rather than provide a permanent cure.

Non-prescription medicines
He best known over-the-counter cold sore treatment is Abreva, which acts in two ways on the lesion. Available from pharmacists, Abreva first sooths the sore, reducing irritation, and then acts directlt on skin cells to help prevent the virus spread. The active ingredient of Abreva is a concentrated dose of docosonal, which is found naturally on the surface of many fruits and vegetables in much smaller amounts.

Other non-prescription treatments that can be useful in reducing pain include ibuprofen, and analgesic ointments or creams applied topically.

Prescription treatments
In addition to the over-the-counter medicines available to treat cold sores, there are a number of prescription treatments too. These include Zovirax (acyclovir) and Famvir (famciclovir), which help to reduce the ability of the virus to replicate, while Viroxyn (benzalkonium chloride) is a single dose treatment that acts on the mature virus.

While there are a number of cold sore medicines available, they are designed to tackle the symptoms rather than offer a real cure. While it is expected that as research continues our knowledge of the herpes simplex virus will increase so that treatments become more effective, the best advice for the present time remains that preventing outbreaks from occurring is the best long-term strategy.

While many people insist on trial and error to find what works best for you, Grace Melgarejo tried all the remedies she heard of after suffering acute cold sores for seven years. She has written a book with a cold sore treatment strategy designed to rid you of cold sores in three days. It is available as an instant download, so you can start using Grace’s treatments immediately.

Click here for more on Grace's cold sore treatment strategies