How to find which cold sore remedies work

When it comes to cold sore remedies you may initially be surprised at how different the response can be by different people. This doesn't just apply to natural remedies either, and the average response to treatment by one of the products from the drug companies has been shown to be similar to that of some natural remedies.

Unfortunately there is no way to know in advance what will work for you as an individual. Therefore you'll need to select a treatment and see if it works. By testing several cold sore remedies like this you should eventually find something that works.

How to treat cold sores: long term solutions

If you suffer cold sores you'll already know how unpleasant they are, but if you are lucky enough not to then one look at a sufferer while in the middle of an outbreak will prbably tell you all you need to know. As it is both painful and disfiguring demand is high for the knowledge of how to treat cold sores and help them heal fast.

Most cold sore treatments are designed to clear up the symptoms of an outbreak. This is simply because once infected with the virus it cannot be cured. Most of the time it lies dormant within the body, only becoming active when the immune system can no longer suppress it due to illness, or simply stress. Part of learning how to treat cold sores effectively is understanding what triggers outbreaks and making choices that can lessen the chances of one occurring.

How to get rid of a cold sore

While there are several drugs available designed to help heal cold sores, they have been shown to be limited in their efficacy and therefore many people have decided how to get rid of a cold sore using alternative or natural remedies.

Common alternative treatments include tea tree oil or lemon balm, These act on the virus, helping the body rid itself of the symptoms faster. If you want to find about these kinds of treatments and learn more about how to get rid of a cold sore see the Cold Sore Treatment Guide.

Simple but effective treatment for cold sores

The drug companies have been busy for years trying to find a really effective treatment for cold sores, but remain frustrated by their attempts to date. Because of this many people have turned to natural remedies, and one of the more popular is lysine rich foods or supplements.

However there is another essential amino acid that appears to encourage cold sore outbreaks; many people find that by reducing the amount of arginine in their diets, or by adjusting the balance between lysine and arginine in their body they suffer fewer and less severe attacks, showing that effective results can be achieved with what appear to be quite minor adjustments. Read more about treatment for cold sores.

The hows and whys of preventing cold sores

They always say prevention is better than a cure, but the problem with cold sores is that prevention really is the best option as there is no cure yet. Naturally it is better to avoid catching the virus that causes them, but if you do become infected it isn't the end of the world as you can take steps that help in preventing cold sores.

Looking after the immune system is vital in this, which may mean making some lifestyle changes. Take a long hard look at what you eat and drink to start with. A good balanced diet, low in fat and sugars and with plenty of fresh fruit and veg is ideal. And if you need to lose weight, do it, while taking regular exercise will help enormously in boosting your immune system and preventing cold sores from occurring so frequently or severely.

Do home remedies for cold sores work?

The range of home remedies for cold sores spans many different types of treatment and while the application of ice doesn't sound extreme, using clear nail varnish to treat cold sores doesn't distinctly bizarre. However, with lemon balm and tea tree oil being long connected to natural healing treatments, it is clear that the spectrum is wide.

Most people advise against using nail varnish as a cold sore treatment, although so many have claimed it works too. And it is true that the condition can be so uncomfortable that sufferers will resort to trying just about any of the various home remedies for cold sores mentioned.

Learning how to get rid of cold sores

While one approach to find how to get rid of cold sores is simply to try what the experts recommend, a better strategy may be to make a note of all the treatments you try and try and gauge the effectiveness of each. Obviously you can't try everything in one go, because if something works you won't know which specific treatment it was and so ideally you would try one treatment for each cold sore outbreak.

Ideally you should take a prolific notes, recording the times at which symptoms occurred and treatments started, as well as the overall time of the outbreak and any specific points you notice such as level of discomfort or any thing else at all. By collating the data carefully and analyzing it later you really can learn how to get rid of cold sores on your own.