Reoccuring Cold Sores

Take Lysine or Super Lysine (available at the vitamin store) twice a day and you should never see them again.

I have one cold sore that comes and goes, and it is brought on by stress.

Have you been spending a lot of time in the sun? UV light from the sun's rays is a really common trigger. Before you go outside, be sure to put some SPF 50 sunscreen on your lips.

I have had them all my life, and lately, like you, I seem to be getting them a lot, and fever blisters too. Anyway, I went to the health food store, and bought some Lysine lip balm, and I use it a lot, even when I don't have a break out. It's about 6 or 7 dollars for a little tube, but it seems to take away the pain and makes them go away a few days earlier than usual. Sometimes the sores have not even broken open when i use them. Sorry I know that's gross. You could give it a try. I am 46 years old, and they don't seem to be going away at all. Stress has a huge part in this IMO, and I have had a lot of that lately.

The sudden frequency is worth a trip to the doctor to discuss it.

Stress, too much sun, not enough sleep, hormones, illness and physical damage to the mouth area such as an injury or even just a cleaning at the dentist..

Valtrex (or generic) when taken at the first sign of an outbreak can stop it from forming and super speed healing.

Start taking an L-lysine supplement daily!
It could be hormones, could be stress, could be lack of sleep, could be a combination of all or none of these, but I bet the lysine works.
I started to get cold sores more often at the end of my second pregnancy and for months after I gave birth. I was talking to our pediatrician about my fears that I would accidentally expose my kids and she suggested the lysine supplement. She said she was getting them all the time, started the lysine daily and hadn't gotten one since. I tried it and it worked!
I take one pill daily and the cold sores are gone for good. I did stop the lysine for 2 months while trying to get pregnant with #3 and got a cold sore at the end of that second month. So, I take the lysine religiously.
It's sold at most drug stores or places like Target that carry supplements and it's labeled L-lysine. I take one 1000 mg tablet daily.
Good luck!

Yeah, I get them too. For me, it's really stress and lack of sleep that brings them on. My doctor prescribed Acyclovir (an anti-viral medicine). As soon as I can feel a cold sore coming on, I start taking the Acyclovir 3 times a day. More often than not, the cold sore never actually erupts. But if it does, the medicine definitely shortens the amount of time that I'm feeling achy and awful, and does keep the sore pretty small in size. Since cold sores are an oral form of herpes, there's no cure for them. You just have to manage them as best you can.

It's a sign of a depressed immune system.
You have the virus that lives inside you, and it flares up when your system depresses.

I usually pop Valtrex for mine when I can feel it coming on. It feels like getting a cold for me.

Your vitamin D may be low. Or it could be gluten :/
Raising my vit D levels and going gluten free have helped me tremendously!!

Same, have had them for decades. Stress, sun, lack of sleep, chapped lips, dehydration... All contribute. Try to use good healing balm all the time, lots of water and sun screen. I feel your pain!

I have to say I have a totally different aspect on this since seeing an old work acquaintance tonight. He had suffered cancer that is basically taking over his body. They took his whole face apart and took his lips off.

He had been treated for a cold sore that just kept coming back and not totally healing for a couple of years. He woke up one morning and his whole face was swollen. He went to the ER and they told him it was cancer and sent him off to be treated. He nearly died from his family doc not knowing what cancer looked like.

So please take some time and get this checked out by a doc that would know what it is and how to treat it. I am not saying I think this is cancer, I am saying go to the doc so you can make sure you are getting the best medical advice and know what it is so it will go away.

are they cold sores or canker sores? those are two different things. first do some research and talk to your dr. and make sure you're talking about the right one.

if you've had them 'as long as you can remember' - they may be canker sores. my family is prone to them, i get them frequently. they get worse with stress or my period cycle. i can't eat a bag of chips without getting one because i will inevitably cut the inside of my mouth (even if i don't know it at the time) and develop an ulcer.

if it is a canker sore not a cold sore (you probably know i'm just covering all the bases), there's not much you can do. my dentist suggested mouthwash, the pure alcohol burning kind, not the "gentle" kind (which was what i used to use). it cleans them out really good and dulls the ache. but L-lysine he said hasn't been proven - and i took two whole bottles of it over the winter and it didn't seem to make a bit of difference, though my mother swears by it.

good luck, either way, i feel your pain!

My triggers are mostly sun, OJ and lack of sleep...with stress being the main culprit.

I do not know why you are having so many.... but I have found I can decrease the length of time they stay around dramatically by putting ice on the spot at THE VERY FIRST TINGLE!! Sometimes it even stops it from blistering.

Hope this helps.

Sun is a big trigger for me. Abreva is the best topical thing I've found to heal them quickly once they start to pop out.