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.

Early use of cold sore remedy minimizes healing time

Whenever you suffer the tingling sensation of a cold sore, you need to know that is the time to act. The choice for choosing a cold sore remedy is wide, with both conventional treatments such as Abreva, and alternative remedies. Abreva protects the cold sore while fighting the virus, minimizing healing time.

However, conventional medicines are not the only option. Simple natural remedies such as the application of lemon balm work well. A member of the mint family it has been used for centuries as a healing aid. And tea tree oil has also been found to be beneficial, while a diet high in lysine can also help.

This is just a small sample of ideas to treat cold sores and goes a little way to showing that while conventional medicine can help, it is not the only cold sore remedy available to sufferers.

Cold Sore Medication

The effectiveness of cold sore medication can vary from person to person, with some responding well to treatment, while others show no improvement at all. Research gas been ongoing for years, with the medical community disappointed at the lack of real progress in this area and natural remedies have been shown to be just as effective is shortening the healing time.

Among the popular medications is Abreva, which uses a concentrated doe of docosanol as its active ingredient. Docosanol is found naturally in some foods, but in much lower does and one of the big advantages of Abreva is that it doesn't require a prescription. Among the most popular prescription only medicines for cold sores is Zovirix, whose active ingredient is an anti-viral agent known as acycloviris.

If you suffer from chronic cold sore outbreaks then it is worth giving these products a go to learn which cold sore medication is effective for you. However, you may also like to use natural remedies toom which can be just as good.

Home remedies for cold sores

With the virus dating back to Roman times perhaps, it is no wonder that there are so many home remedies for cold sores available. Simply applying ice to the area affected cab have a dramatic effect for some people, with it reducing the healing time to a matter of days, or in the case of some lucky people, preventing the sore from appearing at all.

Another popular remedy is to use a warm tea bag against the sore. The tannic acid helps fight the virus, sooth the wound and reduce swelling, making you feel much more comfortable, and other simple home remedies for cold sores include making a tea of lemon balm, a plant from the mint family which possesses strong anti-viral properties.