Nothing to be ashamed of, coldsores. Part of life for many many people.
BUT. My problem is this: when someone you know gives you a kiss – socially not, like, a pash – and then says “oh, sorry about my cold sore.”
This happened to me over Christmas when I bumped into an old school friend on the street. I like to think I’m a fairly tolerant person but I WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS.
After doing that ridiculously polite thing and saying “oh, don’t worry”, I spent the rest of the conversation wanting to scratch my cheek off with steel wool. I had to be content with dashing to the nearest public toilet and washing it with soap and a scratchy paper hand towel.
If you, like Kate Cruise, get cold sores, my friend who has a beauty blog and suffers herself, has published her guaranteed ‘cold sore killer’. It involves nail polish remover. Here’s a taste:
“As soon as you feel the tingle, get a cotton pad or tissue with
polish remover on it, and press it on the area hard. Hold it there. IT
WILL KILL SO, SO BAD. Especially at around the seven second mark. But
you must press it on there for 10 seconds.
What does is dry the virus out so much, that often, the blister won’t even appear.If you want, put some Zovirax on now, but I don’t even bother
anymore, because that stuff makes the CS moist, whereas the whole key
to killing these monsters is keeping them as dry as possible. “
Check it out. Try it out. And then kiss anyone you like, even Tom.
Comments
26 Comments so far
I think my world is coming to an end when I get one. I’m young (23) and alway imaging having this thing popping up for the rest of my life! Makes me real sad and want to cry my eyes out! I use abreva… It helps the healing but I still hate it! Makes my lips shed so much skin. Hope they can find a cure fast!
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What about cold sores in kids? I have a child just started school who gets them all the time and its just horrible. Do you suggest 1 lysine tablet and 1 zinc tablet for children?
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This may be a dumb question, but if someone has previously HAD a cole sore (but currently does not, let’s say it has been years since their last one) and they kiss you, you won’t get the virus from that, right?
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No, only if there is a current one.
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Wrong buddy, it’s called shedding, and it happens a few times a year and you don’t even know you can pass it off to any one.
Think of it as the gift that keeps on giving…
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and pleeeeease don’t kiss anyone’s kids ON THE MOUTH ever. It’s not appropriate and that’s how the virus is transmitted.
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My cold sores are homicidal. No pleasant little scabs for this little black duck – my lips swells to the point that I can’t be seen in public and that I can barely move my head. Lysine, zinc, vitamin c, zovirax… nothing helps.
I’ve found a sympathetic doctor who gives me repeats for a prescription medication called Famvir and if I run to the chemist at the first twinge I will not end up with a Vesuvian eruption that ruins my life for a few days. It costs $30 but I’d pay three times that not to have to go through the pain and discomfort cold sores cause.
Does anyone else get them to the point of needing medication?
I’ll try the nail polish remover thing… you never know. P.S I’ve also found myrhh oil helps with the healing once the infection has started to back off.
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Finally someone who seems to experience the exact same thing I do when i get cold sores! I’m curious…did the nail polish remover thing work for you?
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It helps a little bit if you get to it early, but once the cold sore has taken flight it still doesn’t make much of a difference unfortunately.
I tried dettol as well but here’s a tip – don’t hold a dettol soaked tissue to your face for longer than two minutes. You will burn your skin. Ouch.
Another recommendation I had was virusol, I haven’t heard of it but would be interested to know if that is effective.
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They are a problem for some of us. And even knowing 85+% of people have the infection doesn’t help when a sore erupts. I use Zovirax 400mg twice daily and now I never get them. This is something I do year round because I would get a cold sore almost every other month. If you suffer from them twice or more a year – it’s a wise choice. The medication is considerably safe and quite effective at keeping the herpes virus from erupting.
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To eradicate cold sores forever take 1 lysine tablet and 1 zinc tablet everyday until the bottles are empty (there are usually 30 tablets in a bottle). I did this 10 years ago and my cold sore every other week saga is over!
My husband (because he forgets to take them continuously!!) takes a lysine and / or zinc tablet when he feels a cold sore coming on and it does seriously reduce the attack.
Obviously it doesn’t remove the virus from your system but it does seem to prevent it from manifesting itself in blisters.
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Cold Sores are Herpes. Giving a kiss to someone who is NOT infected can transmit a virus into their body FOREVER !!!
Don’t people get that?
You’re transmitting STD with a NO Known Cure. Why would you do that? Especially if its a kid you are kissing.
Avoid kissing if you are infected with HSV1. Thats Cold sore, and Yes IT IS something to be ashamed of if you transmit it to someone who doesn’t have it.
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ashamed? wow, harsh.
I think it is common courtesy not to kiss anyone whilst you have a cold sore, but I don’t think it’s as scary and life-or-death as you make it out to be… My husband has been smooched many a time by me in various stages of cole-sore-dom and he has never had one himself. Ever. We’ve been together 10 years.
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As a cold sore sufferer who got their first one this way, I agree!!
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Wow… wake up to yourself big time! Did you ever consider that most cold sore sufferers didn’t BEG for them? I’m a sufferer (about once a year) and I’ve had [HSV1] cold sores since I was young I never asked for it and I’m not going to actually be ASHAMED about it… it wasn’t my fault I ever got it! Horrified or Upset? Yes. Ashamed? No. Also you’re ignorance is bliss but I’d like to point out not everyone who gets coldsores has HSV1 … they could have the HSV2 (GENITAL) strain that occurs on their mouth instead… or HSV1 on their genitals.
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Excuse me, but since when was a cold sore an STD? Since “STD” stands for “Sexually transmitted disease” and I got my first cold sore when I was 9 (right after I got the Chicken Pox… same virus, you know). No sex there..
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one thing that works really well that i do is put a ton of rubbing alcohol on it and also hand sanitizer. it really drys everything out and cuts its life almost in half i have found. it burns at first but i’m used to it now. i maybe get 2 a year and thats the first thing i do.
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Does anyone feel like this is a drawback, when it comes to getting into the next relationship? I know this is a remedy but you still have it. I worry about giving it to another person, my SO.
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You couldn’t do that when it is an actual open sore… it would feel like a lightening bolt hitting you in the face.. Getting nail polish remover in a paper cut feels bad enough…OUCH!!!
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I know that this comment is very late in responding but…I am a major cold sore suffer and I still get them on occassion. I used to get them after every semester of uni finished so, perhaps, stress is my trigger. Anyway Lysine tablets work wonders. You can get them in Woolies, Chemists, Priceline.
I used to get really big nasty cold sores once a month. Now I only get them once or twice a year and they’re usually small
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I will certainly be trying this one out, I’m one of those people who just unfortunately gets regular outbreaks. But if this works like you say it does, I will worship you forever! I’m in an industry where you gotta be able to charm and connect with people, but its hard when there is this huge stigma against coldsores. Oh well, I may be back to tell you if the nail polish remover stops my next outbreak. Peace
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EWWWWW that sounds horrible!!!
I wonder if its like that feeling when you put salt on mouth ulcers though, (I imagine this must be the same theory, to dry it out, a bit hard with all the saliva though…)
You know how it stings real bad, but its also kind of fun?
Or is that just me?
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eww. please don’t ever refer to kissing and tom cruise in the same sentence again. the time when he was considered to be in any way kissable is long past.
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I put my hand up to join those who ocassion suffer from the odd cold sore ( in winter & when stressed ie: MIL comes to visit)
I will definitley try that remedy next time but I have to say I’m a little scared. OUCH!
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Ohh, and that polish remover trick? Totally works.
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This is quite an old pic. I saw it on the cover of Woman’s Day (I think), who referred to it as ‘pash rash’..
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