Dreaded Cold Sores

Genetics can suck sometimes.  I had the pleasure of inheriting my Dad's tendency to get cold sores on my outer lip.  I really hope that I do not pass this along to my daughters because cold sores suck.  My frequency of cold sores is much smaller than it was when I was a kid.  When I was a kid I could count on a cold sore every couple of months.  And the cold sores I had tended to be very large cold sores.  They were never one small blister on my lip.  Instead I would develop 7-10 big blisters on my lip.  Once I had a cold sore that covered the entire right side of my lip and extended halfway down to my chin.  On another occasion I had a cold sore on my lip and then a separate one develop on my chin!  Because of that experience I NEVER itch/or scratch my face with my bare fingers.  Doing so can transfer a cold sore to somewhere else on my face.

The worst part about a cold sore is not its outward appearance which is bad enough.  The worst part is the constant tickling feeling on your lip.  Yet you can't scratch it to relieve it because that will spread the cold sore.

Fortunately medicine has improved dramatically since I was a kid.  When I was a kid there was no cure for a cold sore.  They only thing I could do was put a special lotion on it to dull the pain somewhat, but that never worked very well and it did nothing to slow the growth of blisters.  Fortunately Abreva exits today.

This tiny little tube is very expensive at around $15-20 for a tiny little tube.  The tube usually lasts about 2-3 cold sores.  Despite the large cost it is well worth it.  Abreva is the only thing that works in terms of stopping the blister growth and shortening the healing time.  With Abreva my cold sores do not grow as large and heal much more quickly.  

Again, I hope my daughters never have to live through the cold sore experiences I had and continue to have to live through, but even if they do, at least they have Abreva!