[toc]Caused by the herpes simplex virus, cold sores are painful, embarrassing, and contagious. Although, there is no way to get rid of the virus once infected, there are numerous ways to check outbreaks and make them last for shorter durations of time.
Curing cold sores has many implications since the dormant herpes virus is almost harmless. It is only actively contagious during an outbreak and cold sores are the manifestation of such outbreaks. Cold sores can usually be effectively controlled by a number of different methods suitable for different situations.
5 Effective Ways To Cure Cold Sore
Cortisone Injections
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This is one of the most rapidly acting cures for a cold sore episode. Cortisone injections on the cold sore have seen to act extremely quickly and reduce redness and swelling allowing makeup to hide the remnants of the sore.
The only major disadvantage is that this can only be done if you can get an appointment with your physician. Self-administering cortisone injections are highly inadvisable and proper medical supervision is advised to prevent any unwanted mishaps.
Prescription Medication
This is a simple method and is the most commonly used one to prevent the spread of cold sores and to prevent infection in the affected area. Acyclovir, Famvir, and Valtrex are some of the anti-viral medication usually prescribed to act on cold sores to prevent their spread.
They are anti-viral pills and they serve to control cold sores from spreading as well as to prevent infection in already existing cold sores. Take these pills only under a medical prescription.
Cold Compress
This is an alternative treatment that has been known to reduce the symptoms of cold sores. A clean cold compress applied to cold sores for fifteen to twenty minutes can reduce the redness, tenderness, and swelling of the sores.
The cold compress can also be combined with topical pain relief ointments to relieve the pain and tenderness of the sores. This is a very effective remedy to try at home if no medicines or doctors are available nearby.
Healthy Eating
The herpes virus is known to attack in the presence of a compromised immune system. It lies dormant normally but a faulty diet or any other unhealthy dietary practice may cause your immune system to weaken paving the way for a cold sore outbreak.
Maintain a healthy diet with the proper nutrients in the right amounts. A healthy diet ensures a strong immune system keeping cold sore outbreaks away. Vitamin supplements also aid to maintain a strong immune system.
Salt
Applying salt during the cold sores is a very effective home remedy to cure it. The salt destroys the cells of the cold sore preventing the virus from successfully infecting more cells and from replicating. A pinch of salt can be applied to the cold sore and gentle pressure can be applied on it to facilitate absorption.
This is best done in combination with aloe extract which prevents the salt from damaging healthy surrounding tissues and has mild disinfecting properties. Permanently curing cold sores is a topic of research as the herpes simplex virus is difficult to reach when it is dormant but these measures can control cold sore outbreaks to a huge extent.
