Cold Sore Care - How to Lessen Cold Sore Swelling Quickly

Cold sores or fever blisters can be annoying, not to mention unsightly. Such sores are the products of the herpes simplex virus. They will begin as red dots, then start puffing out, all itchy and tingling and cold sore swelling will take place. As the blister gathers moisture and water, it gets larger, and even more embarrassingly conspicuous. Cold sores actually come from any contact of the herpes simplex virus with your mouth, perhaps early in your childhood. The virus picked out a host cell and moved into it. The cell, perhaps a nerve, then suffered to become the puppet of the virus, as the viral DNA gave orders to the host to produce more of the herpes simplex virus.

As cold sore swelling takes place, the numbers grow, the virus multiplies, and the cold sores replicate. Such cold sores can turn up wherever they wish in your body, wherever their host cells lead them. If you have ever been disturbed and aggravated by a cold sore, you know how irritating cold sore swelling can be, and how ashamed you can feel whenever cold sores suddenly choose to wreak havoc. You might also have been tempted to prick it or pop it. Such methods, however, are dangerous, and can lead to cold sore swelling and more infections.

Here are a few methods you can use to lower cold sore swelling and have it disappear quickly. For more tips, consult with your doctor and find ways by which you can prevent even more cold sores from bugging you in the future.

- Because cold sores like moisture and dirt and need more water and bacteria to keep swelling, they can fade away if they are kept dry and clean. Wash the area around the cold sore regularly and pat it dry to lessen cold sore swelling.

- Buy a new toothbrush to prevent cold sore swelling and recurrence. Toothbrushes can incubate such cold sore-causing viruses for days at a time, so you can be infected once again after your last cold sore heals. Studies have shown that patients with cold sores were less likely to get them again if they replaced their toothbrushes after they discovered that they had a cold sore, and then after the cold sore healed.

Not only do toothbrushes make good homes for the cold sore-causing virus, so do toothpaste tubes. As you stick the bristles of your toothbrush against the toothpaste tube opening, you transfer the herpes simplex virus onto the toothpaste tube, where the virus can incubate for quite a while. To prevent this from happening, you can buy smaller toothpaste tubes, or avoid sticking your toothbrush bristles against the opening of the toothpaste tube.

- Herpes simplex thrives in moist conditions, so if you keep your toothbrush exposed in your bathroom, chances are you will get cold sores again and again and cold sore swelling will not be healed. Take your toothbrush out of the bathroom, and wash it before and after you use it.

- Shield the sore with petroleum jelly to avoid cold sore swelling. Use a cotton swab to apply the petroleum jelly onto the cold sore, and throw the swab away immediately.

- According to research, zinc can heal cold sore swelling quickly. Ask for tubes of zinc sulfate or zinc gluconate at your local pharmacy or health food store the minute you feel the familiar tingling of a cold sore.

- Some studies also show that the amino acid lysine can help heal cold sore swelling quickly. Supplement your diet with as much as three thousand additional milligrams of lysine by drinking supplements, or eating potatoes or dairy products to heal cold sore swelling. Be careful, however: lysine can interfere with infant development and growth, so if you are pregnant or nursing, you need to find other ways to treat your cold sores. If you can have the lysine-rich diet, however, stay away from arginine-rich foodstuffs such as sodas, peanuts, chocolates, grains, beer, and cashews. Herpes simplex relies on arginine to multiply.

Although you can lessen cold sore swelling and it naturally disappears after a few weeks, it is still best to find the best permanent treatment for cold sore. Cold sore is not only contagious but it also has high tendencies to come back on the same spot. It is important to stop cold sore at the root of the problem, instead of treating cold sore swelling or just masking the symptoms.