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Avoiding a Spread
I currently am suffering from a re-outbreak of a vicious cold sore. I first got it about five weeks ago and tried to use over the counter options (orajel one dose and releev) and eventually called my doctor for acyclovir. It went away after two weeks total but has now come back with a vengeance. I feel like I was never told exactly how to keep a reoccurance from happening. Should I use one toothbrush during and then toss it? I also am worried. . .when I shower. . .do I need to keep water that touches my lips from touching below? I'm not sure if that's a dumb thought or a valid one. I'm also curious if I should be trying to keep my lips dry or if I should be using blistex/chap stick during? (and if those should be tossed after the outbreak as well) Thanks so much for your help, I'm sick of living with this so often.
keep the antivirals on hand to start at the very first sign of a cold sore about to start. sounds like you have had them enough that this would work fairly well for you. You can take the one day valtrex, 2 day acyclovir or one time famvir dose - whatever your insurance makes cheapest :)
Thank you for your help. Dealing with a cold sore can get extremely frustrating and cause desperation that can lead to all sorts of trust in the wrong types of remedies. I'm assuming the only real permanent solution would be to take an antiviral for suppression daily. Is that something I should definitely look into?
a lot of the methods you read about online really don't work. in fact some of them just irritate the skin more and cause symptoms to linger. I'd stick to the oral antivirals and ice cubes to the area periodically to help the cold sore look less evidently. you can also try steeping a tea bag, let it cool and use it as a compress too.
typically in an adult when herpes spreads to the eyes, it's because the virus reactivated and moved up the nerves to the eye area. it's not something you are going to do in your sleep. always err on the side of caution and wash your hands if you touch your cold sore. you don't have to be worrying about your spit either!
abreva cold sore patch just covers it so it looks less obvious to others. have never seen anyone use one to know if it really does or not. otc abreva cold sore treatment barely got fda approval to say it speeds the healing of cold sores. it only healed cold sores less than a day sooner than placebo. not a lot of bang for your buck for that teeny tube.
typically in an adult when herpes spreads to the eyes, it's because the virus reactivated and moved up the nerves to the eye area. it's not something you are going to do in your sleep. always err on the side of caution and wash your hands if you touch your cold sore. you don't have to be worrying about your spit either!
abreva cold sore patch just covers it so it looks less obvious to others. have never seen anyone use one to know if it really does or not. otc abreva cold sore treatment barely got fda approval to say it speeds the healing of cold sores. it only healed cold sores less than a day sooner than placebo. not a lot of bang for your buck for that teeny tube.
Sometimes the cold sores stay away for six months or more. In this instance the initial cold sore experience took about two weeks from start to clear and I had about five days of clarity and it came back much worse.
When I initially went in and started getting my prescription for acyclovir they mentioned I might eventually need to start a daily supressive therapy, but I was relying on them to tell me when I was starting to have them more often.
For this particular instance the cold sore was in one location during the first period of time and didn't ever get bad enough to be obvious. This follow up outbreak is in three locations on my bottom lip and are now obvious to outside viewers.
Im treating it with a prescription of acyclovir and am currently trying to figure out a method that will help get rid of it without shelling out twenty dollars every day for the Orajel single dose. I tried the garlic method where I hold it to my lip and it burns, then I rinse, followed by covering it with honey. It looks better right after, but it seems to not be slowing down the outbreak at all. I'm not sure if you can make a product recommendation on here, but I'd love to hear a non biased source on what I should do to treat it topically.
And finally. I'm worried about spreading my herpes to my eyes as well as down below. For instance, when I sleep I know I move my head around on my pillow when I toss and turn. Is there a way it could be transmitted on my pillow? And I am in the habit of spitting in the shower. If my spit went awry could it land below and cause a transfer of the herpes? Or when I towel off my face, if it accidentally brushed my lip, is that transferable? I know these questions may seem silly, but those are my big worries. I feel most afraid of transferring it to others. Does using an Abreva conceal cold sore patch help avoid shedding and spreading it to others?
Thanks so much for your time with this. As a long time cold sore sufferer I'm ready to understand my affliction and find a way to move past it in my life.
When I initially went in and started getting my prescription for acyclovir they mentioned I might eventually need to start a daily supressive therapy, but I was relying on them to tell me when I was starting to have them more often.
For this particular instance the cold sore was in one location during the first period of time and didn't ever get bad enough to be obvious. This follow up outbreak is in three locations on my bottom lip and are now obvious to outside viewers.
Im treating it with a prescription of acyclovir and am currently trying to figure out a method that will help get rid of it without shelling out twenty dollars every day for the Orajel single dose. I tried the garlic method where I hold it to my lip and it burns, then I rinse, followed by covering it with honey. It looks better right after, but it seems to not be slowing down the outbreak at all. I'm not sure if you can make a product recommendation on here, but I'd love to hear a non biased source on what I should do to treat it topically.
And finally. I'm worried about spreading my herpes to my eyes as well as down below. For instance, when I sleep I know I move my head around on my pillow when I toss and turn. Is there a way it could be transmitted on my pillow? And I am in the habit of spitting in the shower. If my spit went awry could it land below and cause a transfer of the herpes? Or when I towel off my face, if it accidentally brushed my lip, is that transferable? I know these questions may seem silly, but those are my big worries. I feel most afraid of transferring it to others. Does using an Abreva conceal cold sore patch help avoid shedding and spreading it to others?
Thanks so much for your time with this. As a long time cold sore sufferer I'm ready to understand my affliction and find a way to move past it in my life.
at this point, be seen to make sure it's all just a cold sore and not an impetigo infection.
are you spreading your herpes or making it worse while brushing your teeth and such? no you are not. no reason to toss your toothbrush after each use either.
how often do you get cold sores? if it's more than 1-2 times a year, talk to your provider about trying daily suppressive therapy to help reduce them. you also can keep a prescription for antivirals on hand to start at the very first sign of a cold sore about to start too to ward off a full blown cold sore or at least keep it from lingering so long.
do you put on a good spf lip balm before going outside in the sun?
do you avoid things like whitening and "complete" tooth pastes and the boldly flavored chewing gums and toothpastes? sometimes they trigger cold sores for folks too.
grace
are you spreading your herpes or making it worse while brushing your teeth and such? no you are not. no reason to toss your toothbrush after each use either.
how often do you get cold sores? if it's more than 1-2 times a year, talk to your provider about trying daily suppressive therapy to help reduce them. you also can keep a prescription for antivirals on hand to start at the very first sign of a cold sore about to start too to ward off a full blown cold sore or at least keep it from lingering so long.
do you put on a good spf lip balm before going outside in the sun?
do you avoid things like whitening and "complete" tooth pastes and the boldly flavored chewing gums and toothpastes? sometimes they trigger cold sores for folks too.
grace
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
