Before I do that though, I’d like to point out one thing; if you can prevent your body from developing cold sores you’re better off than trying to heal them when they occur. It may seem obvious, but it is worth repeating. They way to go about this, even if you are infected with herpes simplex, is to give your immune system a boost. That means adopting healthy habits such as eating well, exercising and quitting smoking.
When you do have a cold sore outbreak though, it pays to act fast. As soon as you notice the tingling you should prepare for treatment. One highly effective cold sore treatment that many sufferers swear by is the application of ice to the area. This can be done when the blister appears, but you can start treatment when you feel the pre-cold sore tingling.
Holding ice in the area may not make for the most comfortable 30 minutes of your life, but it has been known – according to some advocates at least – that the treatment stop the sore from appearing altogether. It’s difficult to know how true this really is as it relies upon hearsay, but it certainly seems that cold sores treated like this become less severe and therefore easier to deal with and heal. It is likely that cooling the virus after it becomes active slows down replication and so the amount of damage it is able to do to your face is much reduced.
Another treatment you’ll probably find in your kitchen is the humble tea bag. Normally it is held against the cold sore after being moistened, the active ingredient being tannin. However, there is a neat trick I recently heard about which combines the ice and tea treatments in one – moisten the tea bag and then freeze it. When you’re ready for treatment, use it like ice.
With the lack of efficacy of cold sore medicines, there is a huge demand for information on how to treat cold sores naturally. While you can get plenty of information on this website, you should also take a look at Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days, which is packed with advice on natural cold sore treatments.
