What you need to know about cold sores

As a cold sore sufferer, I am all too familiar with the utter frustration of feeling the dreaded tingle. It’s the absolute worst, especially if you’ve got a big event coming up and you know the cold sore won’t be gone in time (sometimes there’s just not enough lippy in the world to conceal it). Despite my battle with the pesky little buggers, I’ve never really taken the time to find out what causes them, how they’re transmitted, why some people are more susceptible to them than others and how they can be treated. So I speak to Dr Ilana Galgut from enRich Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery Centre to do just that!

RELATED: The reason your skin is red

The HSV virus

Dr Galgut tells me cold sores occur by a strand of the herpes simplex virus known as HSV. This virus can be spread by “direct skin contact with a cold sore or an area that is shedding HSV”. If this contact occurs, a lesion appears around the mouth or the nose and they are usually recurrent.

Exposure to this virus can occur if “you are kissed by someone with a cold sore or one that is developing, or have oral sex with someone who has the virus”. Cold sores manifest themselves through initial tingling followed by swelling and blistering, and finally crusting and scabbing. Yep, it’s just as unpleasant as it sounds!

Susceptibility

I’ve always found it strange that I get cold sores and yet no one else in my family has ever had one and neither have any of my past boyfriends. Dr Galgut explains, “We are not really sure why some people never seem to develop symptoms of having HSV, yet their blood tests for HSV serology show that they have had exposure to the virus.” So, I guess some people are just luckier than others and never develop core sores despite being exposed to the virus.

For those of us who have been exposed and then develop a cold sore, it is likely they will come back again and again #bugger. Dr Galgut says recurrences often occur in particular circumstances such as:

• If the person is tired, stressed or unwell

• If the area is irritated by anything including laser and cosmetic lip injections

• For women, during menstruation

• If the person has excessive sun exposure

People with low immune systems are also more susceptible to cold sores.

Treatment and prevention

While cold sores are not life threatening, they sure are a pain! It is an unfortunate truth that once a cold sore appears, you just have to ride it out until it dries up. Dr Galgut says cold sores will usually heal on their own, however pharmacy treatments are available to shorten the length of the infection. She also adds, “Some people choose to use supplements like L-Lysine which is reported to help prevent cold sores.” When it comes to other forms of prevention, Dr Galgut reckons it’s pretty hard to avoid ever picking up the virus, but steering clear of kissing anyone with an active lesion is a good place to start! She recommends acting quickly when you feel the tingle to speed up the healing process, and to look after your body “by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and [taking] time to wind down and relax from the stresses of daily life”.

To help combat cold sores, bh recommends

cold sore prevention and treatment

1. COMPEED Invisible Cold Sore Patch
2. ViraproX Lip Balm
3. Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Cold Sore Cream
4. Swisse Ultiboost Cold Sore Combat

Have you ever had a cold sore? How do you usually treat them?

59 Member Comments

cosmoslyn 10 Apr 2018 9:52 PM

maybe it's time for an update! there's a propolis lipbalm for cold sores you can get

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Simonja 9 Apr 2018 9:14 PM

I was in my late 20's when I had my first cold sore. Sometimes I have them every three months and sometimes I can go a year without them. The above was an interesting read but I was already aware of where they come from etc etc..... Compeed is not very useful to me as the cold sores always pop up in an awkward spot and the little plasters will not stay on properly.

duality 9 Apr 2018 5:34 PM

Wow spooky lol I saw this article pop up in my fb feed and just when i am having my first coldsore since I was 13! No idea why now after so long but the Compeed patches look like something I desperately need right now

onlyoni 9 Aug 2017 9:39 AM

I've had only a few cold sores in my life but my husband gets them at the drop of a hat so we always have cold sore cream in the house.

Shop A Everyday 9 Aug 2017 1:46 AM

I imagine these must be very sore

Rainbownerds 9 Aug 2017 12:05 AM

Compeed works wonders

Chicklet 8 Aug 2017 9:40 PM

I'm fortunate never to have had one.

BeautifulJusty 1 Jul 2017 3:17 PM

No cool those cold sores. Thankfully not anymore.

Ellie585 18 Nov 2016 7:36 PM

Thankfully I do not get cold sores

Linda_Vesinger 3 Sep 2016 12:19 PM

I hate getting them, luckily my last one was years ago. At least nowdays there are some very good products to deal with them

Yohanna 9 Aug 2016 2:13 PM

Now just off to get those patches! I kill the thing first day with coconut/bicarb mix, but need something to stop me from touching the area while it is scabbing and healing.. Never knew till now that these even existed!!!

Mine are caused by a bit more manic periods, couple of times a year. When lucky only once. This time they have hit hard!

talk-a-lot 5 Apr 2016 7:07 PM

I am thankful I don't suffer with cold sores. My sister on the other hand has a problem with them at times.

Petal 27 Feb 2016 2:26 PM

Thankfully I don't get cold sores. I've known people that do, and they look really painful.

Jessica712 15 Feb 2016 5:20 PM

Very informative article.

Elefante 10 Feb 2016 12:56 PM

I get tablets from the chemist but they seem to still form, they heal slightly quicker but I am left with scars

Yohanna 9 Feb 2016 1:52 PM

The only thing that ACTUALLY works after one feels it tingling and coming is: mix bicarb soda with raw coconut oil (cold pressed) half-half. Apply whenever during outbreak. It will make it go away fast! It kills it, stops more blistering and dries it very quickly. Zovirax is very ineffective (takes more than a week for cold sore to go away, same as not using anything!!!)

so sorry, my comment has multiplied itself!!! :(

Yohanna 9 Feb 2016 1:50 PM

josella432 8 Feb 2016 6:58 PM

I use cold sore cream pretty religiously when I get them, and keep my lips hydrated. I wasn't so good at this when I was a kid and they would get so bad - crusty, cracked and bleeding. I would never, ever kiss someone when I have a cold sore, I couldn't bear passing it on.

Elunia 8 Feb 2016 10:33 AM

I once had a pimple on my lip and thought that it was a cold sore - I went and got it checked as it did hurt quite a bit. Great information, I hope I never get this.

Shop A Everyday 7 Feb 2016 5:54 PM

They always look so pain and sore, I have never had one

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