Don’t you just hate cold sores? They are a pain in the butt and they come at the most inconvenient times! I’ve always been plagued with cold sores and over the years I’ve definitely learned what works and what doesn’t. So today I’m going to share with you how to fight cold sores with medicine, not myths.
5 Common Cold Sore Remedy Myths
Myth 1: Distilled vinegar helps prevent cold sore outbreaks
FACT: I did a bunch of research (a.k.a. searched through many pages of Google) and while I saw many blogs, holistic websites, and DIY’ers saying that vinegar prevents cold sores… I couldn’t find any medical facts to back that up.
MYTH 2: Putting ice on a cold sore helps it heal faster
FACT: While it will successfully numb the area and give you relief in that way, it will not speed up the healing process. It can reduce the redness and swelling, though, which is a neat tip. Never know when that might come in handy. 🙂
MYTH 3: Witch Hazel will heal your cold sores
FACT: Witch hazel is an astringent, so all it will do is dry out your cold sore. That doesn’t necessarily heal it. Also, it isn’t an FDA approved method to speed the healing of cold sores.
MYTH 4: Ingredients like camphor and menthol can heal a cold sore
FACT: These are common ingredients found in lip balm and lip ointment, but they aren’t clinically proven to heal a cold sore. But it will feel moisturizing and soothing on your lips, so it can’t hurt. Just don’t expect your cold sore to leave any quicker. 🙂
Myth 5: All nonprescription treatments work the same
FACT: Unfortunately, not all are created equal. Most nonprescription treatments only treat the pain of cold sores and provide temporary relief. Only Abreva® is FDA approved to shorten the healing time of your cold sore. Which is where the next part of this post comes in — what actually works. 🙂
What Cold Sore Remedy Actually Works
So, as you know, this post is sponsored by Abreva®, but I’ve been using their product for the past 3 years on my cold sores and I’m a big believer in their claims: it really does work! This is why I was so excited to get the opportunity to work with Abreva® on this post. Abreva® is FDA approved to shorten the healing time of your cold sore. And it’s available without a prescription in the cough/cold aisle at pretty much any big drug, mass, or grocery retailer. If used at the first sign of a cold sore (which I am always careful to watch for), 25% of Abreva® users healed in 2.5 days, while the median healing time is 4.1 days. (Yes, that .1 is important, gotta be exact 😛 ) Nothing else* shortens the healing time of your cold sore like Abreva®, and I can testify to that. I get cold sores multiple times in a year and the moment I feel one starting to form, I reach for my tube. There have been times when the cold sore barely even comes up to the surface before it goes away — Abreva® is that good. While most all of the other products I’ve tried in the past provide me temporary relief from my cold sore symptoms, Abreva® treats the issue so I can get back to rocking the fun lip colors ASAP (because let’s be honest, that’s what I miss most when I have a cold sore! 😛 )
*Among OTC products.
Learn More About Abreva®
What do you use for cold sores? Tell me in the comments for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!
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