What Is The Cold Sore?
Before we start talking about cold sore home remedy, let me explain what it is first. Cold sore is small, painful, fluid-filled blister or sore which commonly occurs on the lips or around your mouth. It’s caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and is very contagious. It’s important for you to avoid kissing anybody, oral sex, sharing cups during the outbreak.
There are 5 stages from beginning to the final healing.
1. During the first 1-2 days, there are no visible blisters appear, but you’ll feel some initial symptoms like tingle and itch. We call this stage the Early Stage. 2. Days 2-4 are the Blister Stage when the small, painful blister appear and enlarge on your skin. 3. At days 4-5, which are the Ulcer Stage, the blister starts to burst and become an open sore. This is the most painful stage. 4. Then at days 5-8, the Scabbing Stage, the sore dries out and a scab forms. You may feel severe pain, itching and burning when the scab shrinks and cracks to bleeding. 5. The final stage is the Healing Stage from days 8-10 when the scab disappears and the sore heals. Common experiences at this stage includes dry, flaking and swelling. The skin may keep pink or red for a few days.
Though cold sore can be self-healed in 7 to 10 days without any treatment, the virus can’t be removed from your body and the symptoms will recurrence for rest of your life if not treated correctly. The biggest trigger of the cold sore is stress. When you are under stress, the HSV-1 that hides in your body can easily break through the immune system and active the blister or sore around your mouth. When you get cold sore again and again, which is annoying, you must want to know is there any easy home remedies that can relieve the symptom and reduce the duration?
5 Simple Home Remedy For Cold Sore
Here are a few of famous remedies.
Aloe Vera - Break off the leaf of aloe vera and get the juice. Try to gently apply it on the blister 2-3 times throughout the day. It’s more effective if used in the Early and Blister Stages of a cold sore. Aloe Vera is one of the best natural medicinal plants that can help relieve the pain and heal the skin.
Apply Ice - When you first feel the symptoms like tingling or itching around your mouth, it’s the sign that a cold sore will occur later. You could wrap a few ice cubes inside a thin piece of towel. Put it on the area you feel the symptom and hold it as long as possible. The ice can kill the blister and stop it coming out of your skin. But you have to be cautious not to hold it too long as the cold may frostbite your skin.
Echinacea - Echinacea can be taken to cure and prevent a cold sore outbreak. Use the herbal medicine to prepare an extract. Soak a cotton ball within the liquid and apply it on the sore for few minutes 3-4 times a day.
Garlic Oil - Garlic is a powerful anti-virus natural medicine on the earth. The best way to use garlic is to crush the fresh garlic and apply the fresh juice on the scab. It will soften the scab and avoid it from painful cracking during the Scabbing Stage. You can also cut a clove and rub it on the sore. Do not overuse the garlic because it can cause skin irritation.
Tea Tree Oil - There are some researches that have proven that the tea tree oil have powerful antiviral function against cold sore. You can buy the tea tree oil at local health food stores, drugstores or online. Use a cotton ball to swab the tea tree oil on the blister 3-4 times a day. If you have sensitive skin, you should dilute the oil in water before apply it.
Most people associate dangerous and damaging burns with heat and fire, but injuries associated with cold burns, or frostbite, can be equally damaging and serious. Similar to a heat or fire burn, frostbite occurs when skin or tissue is damaged (in the case of cold burns, due to contact with extreme cold). When parts of the body are exposed to low temperatures for long periods of time, blood vessels constrict to help restrict blood flow and protect an individual’s core temperature. This combination of cold temperature and restricted blood flow can freeze the tissue, causing permanent damage.
