Treating a cold sore is really a pain. They are unsightly and usually quite painful. Cold sores really interrupt our social lives. And they seem to show up at the most inconvenient times for treating a cold sore.

Unlike many diseases that do their damage internally Cheap Chiefs Hoodies , cold sores only occur on the surface. Because of this, they can be easily cured. If this same damage occurred internally, cold sores could be a threat to your life.

Treating a cold sore successfully means you must adjust the treatment based on the stage of your cold sore symptoms.

These are the variations of treatment methods for each symptom.

1. Itching or tingling is the first sign of a outbreak. This tells you that the herpes simplex virus has come out of latency and has moved to the surface to replicate. It replicates by entering the cells and forcing them to create clones of the virus.

At this stage you should put something cold on the area. Ice cubes in a plastic bag work well. You can also use a cold can of soda. Cold really discourages the virus and can cause it to give up before it actually creates the sore.

2. Once the virus actually enters the cells, swelling begins to occur. Cold application is still the best treatment at this stage. Apply for 15 minutes at a time. This always helps swelling Cheap Chiefs Shirts , and does give some comfort.

3. If you did not stop the virus before this point, the sore will now break open and start weeping fluid teaming with new virus. This is caused by the destruction of thousands of nerve cells. From now on, your outbreak is in the healing phase.

Ice will still provide great comfort, and reduce swelling. But Cheap Chiefs Jerseys , unfortunately, it slows down the healing process by driving blood away from the area.

During the open wound stage, treating a cold sore includes keeping it as sterile as possible by cleaning with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide often.

Applying a drug store product with a numbing agent, like Campho-Phenique Armani Watts Hat , can greatly improve comfort without using ice.

4. Treating a cold sore, from this point on, calls for applying warmth as much as possible. This will speed healing by bringing more blood to the area.

Continue to keep the area sterile. Also, continue applying the comfort treatment (numbing agent) of your choice. Keep in mind that most all drug store oral herpes treatments are for comfort and do not speed healing.

HOW TO APPLY HEAT. To apply healing warmth Dorian O'Daniel Hat , you can use a washcloth or paper towel dipped in hot water. You also can dampen the washcloth and warm up in your microwave. Just be careful not to burn your skin.

A better method, in my opinion, is to use a warm tea bag. This way of treating a cold sore not only speeds healing from the heat, but also bathes the area with anti-viral compounds found in tea. Lemon balm herb and mint seem to be especially useful in this regard.

PLEASE USE CAUTION. Cold sores are extremely contagious. You can easily infect others or create new areas of infection on yourself.

Each cold sore family creates cold sores in the same area. If you have an outbreak on your nose Derrick Nnadi Hat , and one on your lip, these are caused by two separate infections. The most troublesome is spreading it to your eyes. This can cause permanent vision loss.

When you are treating a cold sore, protect your fingers from being contaminated. If you must itch or treat the sore, use a tissue or cotton ball. Wash your hands after treatment. The use of hand sanitizing lotion is an excellent way of preventing the spread of the disease.

Cold application is for slowing the growth at the beginning Breeland Speaks Hat , and heat is for quick healing. Keep the cold sore clean and avoid contaminating your fingers while treating a cold sore.