Cold sores & stress

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I've stressed myself out so bad and now I have a GIANT cold sore on my bottom lip... has this ever happened to anyone else and what do you guys use on them??? I've tried everything and nothing is working.. I'm so frustrated!!!!

I really like Caramex. I put it on them all day long. I too get them when I am under a lot of stress of when I am sick. It sucks!! Sorry to hear you have them too. I used to get them all the time when I was a teenager. But now it is a couple of times per year.

Lysine is good for cold sores in people and animals. I give it to my cats as they were exposed to a herpes virus as kittens. It checks the virus proliferation in them. (My breeder and a veterinarian who writes a column recommended it.) When I don't give it to them, they begin to manifest symptoms (sneezing, mucous). Lysine has checked my cold sores when I get them. I don't have to take it all the time, however, nor do folks I know that also use it.

Specializes in LTC.

thanks for the tips everyone my butt is now on the way to the pharmacy!!!

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
I've stressed myself out so bad and now I have a GIANT cold sore on my bottom lip... has this ever happened to anyone else and what do you guys use on them??? I've tried everything and nothing is working.. I'm so frustrated!!!!

I dont get cold sores or anything like that because I never get stressed.

I have cold sores constantly unless I take a multivitamin and extra C.

Once they appear just leave them alone.

Specializes in home health, peds, case management.

famvir 1000mg at the first tingle is the best thing i've found. best to keep a whole jar of em on hand...learned that the hard way.

a daily pnv for zinc and lysine 500 mg/day works for daily prevention for me...i do crank it up to 1,000mg tid when i feel tingly...just dont go over 4,000mg/day or you risk renal damage.

i did see some info on a clinical trial in my area for a pulsed light treatment...am considering looking into it...anyone know anything about this?

Specializes in Orthopedics/Med-Surg, LDRP.

I swear by Valtrex. Whenever I feel that soreness before it erupts, I call the dr. and they give me four 1 gram pills. I take 2 immediately then 2 more 12 hours later and that knocks it out before it even develops.

I didn't like Abreva. First of all it's $17 for one and I felt that all it did was just force it through it's life cycle which shortens it, but I'd still get the eruption and it would still get crusty then bleed when it dried out and this was regardless of when I started using it. Plus I get them only about 3 times a year, so I just stuck to Valtrex on this one.

I, like you, get them during periods of stress. It's based on the Herpes Simplex virus which is latent. Sometimes if your body is fighting off a cold, it allows the Herpes to run amok thus one comes up, but you won't get sick - if that makes any sense?

Good luck!

When I was in nursing school the same thing happened to me. Didnt have insurance and couldnt afford to go to the doctor. I actually tried tea trea oil and it worked. I have used it for several things and this did the trick. I am about to start the bridge program and I have my bottle ready. Good luck.

Specializes in NICU, PACU, Pediatrics.

I use Herpacin L which has lysine in it as soon as I feel the itchy, tingly feeling

Don't get them often but when I do it's stress related

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