Cold Sore Treatment

I'm a born problem solver. Even when I was little, I would take apart every toy I had and see how it works. This problem solving/ see how it works attitude is intertwined in all parts of my life.

Fast forward to my last year of college. I took an internship at a large insurance company as an analyst. I quickly found out that I was a very small piece of the puzzle and it was easy to finish my work early. When I finished my work, I had LOTS of free time.

One day I got a cold sore and tried my best to hide in my cube and do whatever I could to get rid of it. I spent a lot of time researching, looking at message boards, and basically fumbling through a lot of unorganized information. I eventually pieced together a few remedies that I thought might be promising and I gave it a whirl. After some trial and error I finally found a DESCRETE solution that works! Thats another thing... I wanted to treat my cold sore and not have everyone in the world know about it. Why would I want to quickly get rid of my cold sore and in the mean time advertise to the world that I have one?!

OK, so here it is...
I looked at the situation and said, " what is the best way to fight this thing?"

Solution: Hit it from all angles to maximize results. 'What are all of the angles?' you ask? Simple, I have a three pronged approach. You have to hit it from the outside, the inside, and then give it food to repair.

'How do you do that?'
First I'll tell you the Inside, then the Outside, then the Repair and then tell you the sequence. Here it is...

First- The Inside:
You have to give your body the chance to fight this thing. It's very hard to fight a virus but I found something that actually works and it's not a prescription. Again, I didn't want to go to the doctor and then to the pharmacy and advertise that "HEY I HAVE A COLD SORE!"
I did the research and found it is best to use Red Marine Algae (go ahead and Google it). This gives my body the chance to fight the cold sore from the INSIDE. I also have found that it makes me sleep better which probably helps with the whole stress thing that brings on cold sores in the first place. I also use it when I feel like I'm getting sick but that's another story.
The other thing that I always do is take some Ibuprofen. Why? Because Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory and your cold sore is pretty dang inflamed is it not? I suggest using the liquid gels because they act faster.

Second- The Outside:
This is the one that most people focus on and honestly it's probably the most effective place to focus your efforts. One thing is for sure DO NOT USE CARMEX. Using Carmex was my biggest mistake for a long time. Here's an idea folks... rub your finger all over your cold sore with this stuff that will make it nice and shiny so everyone knows for sure that you have a cold sore! Stupid.
Here's the real solution- Invest in some Abreva. I had an ex that was a pharmacy tech and the pharmacist said that the BEST stuff to buy was Abreva. I said 'It better be, its also the most expensive!" It turns out he was right and I always have Abreva on hand now.
The other part of the 'outside' is the absolute most important part of the solution. Buy a couple of packages of Walgreens brand 'Cold Sore Treatment Topical Antiseptic.' The label says 'Fast Relief Cold Sore Treatment.' It says it works in one treatment but I always buy 2 packages because I usually use at least 3 doses (each package has 2 doses in it). Also, you're going to need some eye drops to 'get the red out'. Funny enough though... nasal spray works just as well and it might end up being cheaper too.

Third- Repair
If you've done any research about cold sores and lip health you've probably found that L-Lysine has been shown to improve lip health. While I don't view this as a golden spear, I do think that it helps quicken the healing process. I'm all about logic and here's how the logic works:
L-Lysine has been show in studies to improve lip health - This is a positive and a good starting point
What is L-Lysine? - It is an essential amino acid. That means it is necessary for human health but the body can't manufacture it. Amino acids like lysine are the building blocks of protein.
What does your body use protein for? - Repairing tissue
BING! Duh! The best thing to use for repairing a cold sore is L-Lysine.
Or if you want to reverse engineer it:
My body has a wound. How does my body heal wounds? With nutrients- especially protein.
What is Protein? Protein is built from amino acids.
What is the best amino acid to use to build the protein that will heal my lip? L-Lysine!
Plus L-Lysine is cheap :)
The next thing you should be doing right away is taking your multi vitamin. Your body needs all everything possible so it can repair as quickly as possible. After that I would suggest sipping on some Airborne. I know Airborne is suppose to be used to prevent colds but essentially its just a buch of vitamins, minerals and herbs that help your body maximize its ability to fight disease. If you look at the ingredients you'll also notice that it includes lysine. :)

Now you have the components. The next step is putting it all together.

These are the steps you need to take the instant you feel like you may start to get a cold sore or if you have an important event coming up (Wedding, interview, date, prom, or maybe your job requires a lot of face-to-face time like my current job does).

-Immediately take a dose of Red Marine Algae and L-Lysine. I personally usually take a large dose right away.
-Next, take your multivitamin and start drinking your Airborne
-Next, get to a mirror and use one doses of the Walgreens topical antiseptic. It's a little like alcohol and will basically disinfect the area and help dry it up. And yes, I've tried just using alcohol or nail polish remover (as some sites suggest) but it doesn't work the same AT ALL.
-Wait for the antiseptic to dry and then use your eye drops (or nasal spray) and wet the area. Let the eye drops dry completely before the next step
- Next, lightly dab some Abreava to the area. I say lightly because this is part of being discreet. The Abreva not only helps the cold sore heal but it also mutes the bright red area where the cold sore is trying to surface.
-Next, you can apply makeup if it fits the particular situation but I'd shy away from this unless it's the day of your wedding, prom, or other big event.
-I personally suggest buying and carrying the Abreva pump with you at all times and here's why: You can buy the tube or the pump. The tube is made of some sort of metallic material that ends up bending and getting cracks and then you lose all of your product! I use the Pump because it looks somewhat like chapstick when it's in your pocket and you can rip off the label so no one knows what you're carrying. I told you, I'm all about being discreet! :)

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