Recognising Cold Sores And Treating Them

More than a week ago, I had extremely dry lips which led to chapping and cracking. It was extremely unsightly and uncomfortable which led me on a search for the right lip balm to help alleviate the condition. If this was just a case of dry lips, I think I wouldn’t have been so concerned but then there was redness around my lips and an inflammation developed. It started to get itchy with a little burning. I thought it was acne but after countless acne patches and blemish cream applied, the problem remained.

The expensive ulcer cream from one of the pharmacies didn’t help my cracked lips nor were the lip balms doing much. Finally I couldn’t take it any more and went to my tried and trusted pharmacy, AA in Bangsar which has always been of help in my little odd ailments over the past year.

The pharmacist took one look at my skin and diagnosed cold sores. That sounded awful! I’d never had cold sores before. She said that if this viral infection wasn’t treated, it’d spread. There were blisters on my lips, around my mouth and chin. They are highly irritating because they itch and look terrible. I did some online research and found out that herpes simplex virus strain HSV-1 normally causes them. They could have been caused by my recent outbreak of cold and fever, hormonal changes (perimenopause?) or extreme stress (that’s another story!). The virus remains dormant under the nerves until something triggers an outbreak. It never goes away and one never knows when there might be another outbreak. It really sounds scary because getting cold sores is a dampener.

I was recommended Declovir Cream @ RM16.40 (much cheaper than that ulcer cream that never worked since I don’t have an ulcer) which treats herpes simplex infections of the skin. It can be applied up to 4x a day. When I first applied it, there was a mild tingling/burning sensation but it wasn’t that itchy any more.

Without medication, cold sores take at least a week to go away. I am hoping they’ll go away in a few days as this feels worse than having pimples. I know these things take time but how I wish there was something that can make them disappear in 24 hours.