Herpes: It sucks

[Conveyor Belt]

I got really stressed out and angry yesterday, and today I wake up with a cold sore... I went to bed at 3:30am, got up at 6:30am, and in those little 3 hours, I have a full blown outbreak of oral herpes...

So, I'm going to try the abreva route, again... $15 for abou 1/32 oz of product, plus some herbal stuff that's full of things called Herplex, and I'm going to shovel it down, too, hoping to avoid a spread into my nose, which is the normal route...

I hate these outbreaks... it feels stiff and sore and it's only going to get worse as the day progresses...

Anyone got any home remedies for reducing the time dealing with the outbreak?

[carsalesguy]

don't stick ur lips and nose in something that's infected?

[Astra]

Have you looked into the new 1-day treatment (http://www.webmd.com/content/article/126/116186.htm)?

[Southern_Belle]

actully, it is dormant in your body until something stirs it up... like extreme cold, fever, sunburn, stress, viruses, etc... i doubt CB stuck his lips and nose in anything that was infected in his sleep - at least i hope not :-)

i get them as well. in fact, just reading this thread will probably result in a cold sore. however, i have prescription medicine for them. when i feel it coming (itchy) i just take the pills that i have. usually stops it. i use Denavir as a topical cream. it's like abreva, but stronger and much more expensive, and requires a prescription. i am immune to abreva and all that over-the-counter stuff. put ice on it and it will reduce the blister. sometime camphophenique helps. it dries it out.

i am sorry CB - i know EXACTLY how you feel.

[carsalesguy]

actully, it is dormant in your body until something stirs it up... like extreme cold, fever, sunburn, stress, viruses, etc... i doubt CB stuck his lips and nose in anything that was infected in his sleep - at least i hope not :-)

i get them as well. in fact, just reading this thread will probably result in a cold sore. however, i have prescription medicine for them. when i feel it coming (itchy) i just take the pills that i have. usually stops it. i use Denavir as a topical cream. it's like abreva, but stronger and much more expensive, and requires a prescription. i am immune to abreva and all that over-the-counter stuff. put ice on it and it will reduce the blister. sometime camphophenique helps. it dries it out.

i am sorry CB - i know EXACTLY how you feel.

for you, i would recommend not putting your mouth in or on anything that may be infected.....

the way i see it, you had to get it someway for it to be dormant in your system.......

[Olohian]

You don't have to put your mouth in or on somethinng to get it. I have been getting fever blisters every since i was a child. I believe fever blisters are strait from "The Devil"

[Southern_Belle]

for you, i would recommend not putting your mouth in or on anything that may be infected.....

the way i see it, you had to get it someway for it to be dormant in your system.......

"On a practical level, this means oral HSV-1 is often the most easily acquired herpes infection. Usually the first herpes simplex virus that people encounter, oral HSV-1, is typically spread simply by the kind of social kiss that a relative gives a child. Because children have no prior infection with any HSV type, they have no immune defense against the virus." - American Social Health Association

It can also be congenital - or acquired from birth.

[daisy]

I use campho-phenique since abreva is expensive. Try to get some sleep and don't stress out if possible. Such a pain and hope you feel better soon.

[jmb]

CBelt, have you checked into L-Lysine?

[Astra]

Like Southern Belle said, cold sores can be symptoms of both the very common lesser herpes virus that spreads easily through even casual contact, OR the more serious kind that is usually spread through sexual contact (but not always). It'd be nice if more people would realize that.

[big john]

I wonder if too much static electricity can cause a breakout?

[big john]

I read somewhere that a wet lipton tea bag will help bacause of the tannic acid.

[Hermione]

One helpful thing to do is get ice on the lesion as quickly as you can, when you start to feel that little itch. Wrap an ice cube in a paper towel and hold it on the lesion as much as you can stand. I've found that tends to make them go away faster, and it helps the pain. And yes, we mostly got them when we were little kids. And yes, stress can trigger them.

I'll try the tea bag thing -- maybe a really cold teabag would do the same thing as the ice??

[amanda]

Here's one for the books. Buy some carberator cleaning spray. I know, just bear with me. As soon as you start to feel the first tingle, spray a little of the cc on a q-tip and place on the area. DON'T SMOKE WHILE YOU ARE DOING THIS! But it really does work.

[ACEsmom]

I know people that have HSV-1 on their privates. A lot of the people with cold sores have the type II -- you dont know anymore what kind you have from the location. Think about it -- you have type I - get a little frisky with your spouse -- they get type I on their privates. Or they have type II on their privates -- get a little frisky-- now you have type II on your face... Seen it all in clinical already -- and AIDs is rampant down here in the "deep south"!!! Sheez! But type I and II have the same clinical manifestations and have been spread so much that unless you culture it --- it's "like a box of chocolates, ya never know what you're gonna get" It just looks painful!