In fact, some doctors say as many as 1 in 5 children will contract Herpes Simplex 1, HSV-1, the virus that causes cold sores.

Luckily, treating cold sores and preventing lip blisters isn’t much different in children than it is in adults.

How to Recognize Cold Sores

Cold sores, unlike other mouth sores, are usually small, red bumps that appear primarily as sores on lips. They can appear inside the mouth, but that is rare. Cold sores can also creep up into the nose and they can cause a lot of pain no matter where they show up.

These fever blisters can last 1-2 weeks, often erupting a few days after a child feels a tingling in their lips. Once the sore grows, it will eventually burst and leak a white fluid. The exposed lip sore will then crust over and last as many as 10 days.

After healing, sores on lips will leave a red mark on the child’s face for as long as a month in some cases.

What Problems Cause Cold Sores in Children?

Just like adults, kids can get HSV-1 from the following:

• Sickness
• Overexposure to Sunlight
• Stress
• Chapped Lips
• Sharing Food or Drink with a Kid Who Has Cold Sores

Read more about what problems cause cold sores.

Fever Blister Treatment for Kids

There is no cure for cold sores, but you can take steps to help heal lip sores more quickly.

Here’s how to take action:

• Make sure the child is getting a balanced diet. Doctors have linked improper diets to contributing to trigger factors in cold sores.
• Give the child foods high in Lysine, a compound known for quickening the lifespan of a lip sore. Foods high in lysine include Chicken, Beans and Fish.
• Apply moisturizer to the cold sore
• Cover sores on lips with a balm
• Acetominophen and Ibuprofen can be given to some children to help ease the pain caused by lip blisters.

Get more cold sore remedies.

Prevent Cold Sores

Cold sores can’t be completely prevented, but kids can reduce the likelihood of a cold sore outbreak.

A simple step would be to make sure child washes his or her hands and face regularly, especially when they are around a child who currently has cold sores.

Get more methods to prevent cold sores.

The sad thing is, you can’t cure cold sores, also known as fever blisters.

But you can take steps to prevent cold sores and it’s best to know what triggers a lip sore outbreak for your body.

COMMON COLD SORE TRIGGERS

If you’re going to prevent new sores on your lips, get to know these common triggers that many of us don’t give enough credit to.

1. Stress: We all have too much stress in our lives. But when stress really gets to us, it’s common for a cold sore to erupt. Talk about adding wood to the fire.
2. Not Enough Sleep: The average adult should get at least 6-9 hours of sleep a night. If you’re not getting that much, you could be tempting a mouth sore to appear.
3. Overexposure to Sunlight: Too much sunlight or exposure to UV rays can dry out the skin and attach your lips. If you’re going to be in the sun for an extended period of time or in the tanning booth, make sure you use a lip balm to protect your lips.
4. Dry, Chapped Lips: Deal with chapped lips immediately. The last thing you want to do is create lip sores by not taking care of them.
5. Menstruation
6. Pregnancy
7. Fever: Getting a cold or flu can reduce your body’s hydration levels, which can spur fever blisters.

While not all of these causes of cold sores can be avoided, some of them can at least be addressed before it becomes too late. If you think you are about to have some mouth sores, it’s best to get prepared with some pain relievers and natural home remedies for mouth sores.

Once contracted, cold sores will lie dormant in your nervous tissue. Everyone has certain lip sore triggers that will prompt a new sore to erupt.

Fever blisters can’t be cured but you can take steps to prevent cold sores and treat them to shorten their lifespan.

Cold Sore Signs and Symptoms

Here’s some things you should look for to identify lip sores:

• Tingling of the lips. This sometimes precedes lip blisters by 1-2 days.
• Small, hard bumps under the skin around the mouth
• Small and painful blisters filled with fluid on around the mouth. These blisters are often raised, red and very painful.

Cold sores last 7-14 days and can leave a lasting red bump for up to a month after a lip sore has erupted. They can also appear on your nostrils and sometimes inside your mouth.

After a cold sore has appeared, it will eventually break and release fluid. After that, the lip sore will crust over and will create a scab that can last for about 10 days.

Cold Sores Are Contagious

Cold sores brought on by HSV-1 are very contagious, especially during the period that they have erupted on your skin. It’s best to stay out of contact with others during this time and avoid touching you sore with with your fingers.

Do not share food, drinks, utensils or even towels with someone who has an open fever blister.

Cold sores are even contagious when they are not present, but spreading them during this time is rare.

Preventing Cold Sores

There are several steps you can take for preventing cold sores. To do so, you must know:

1. What are your cold sore triggers
2. How to prevent cold sores

Some simple steps to take include eating healthy foods, wearing sunblock and avoiding stress.

Cold Sores Treatment

If you have cold sores, you will want to take steps to make sure your body can deal with the pain and also shorten the lifespan of the cold sore.

Here’s some more resources for treating lip sores:

• The truth about Abreva ointment
• Cold Sore Pain Killers

Medical Attention Sometimes Required

Cold sores that last for more than two weeks can be cause for consulting a medical professional. Most cold sores will not need medical assistance, but if your symptoms are severe, you’ve had irritation in your eyes or you have a pre-existing condition that lowers your immune system, it’s best to get the help you need.

It doesn’t have to be that way!

There are many steps you can take to help prevent cold sores. Read on for the best home remedies for cold sores prevention.

HOW TO PREVENT COLD SORES NATURALLY

We hate to break the bad news, but you can’t prevent cold sores, also called fever blisters. It’s just not possible.

But you can REDUCE THEIR FREQUENCY.

Here’s a number of ways to help reduce the chances of spurring a lip sore outbreak.

1. Wash Your Hands and Face: This is especially important when you are around someone experiencing an outbreak of mouth sores. By keeping your hands and face clean, you will help limit the chance that you could transfer the Herpes Simplex 1 virus to your body.
2. Avoid Sharing Utensils, Cups, Towels and Toothbrushes: When another person has a cold sore, it’s best to not share anything with them that may touch your mouth and theirs. Sounds simple, but many of us often forget and may share a soda or even a towel. If someone you know has an exposed mouth sore, make sure you have your own supplies.
3. Avoid Kissing: Yes we can’t help this all the time and it puts a damper on the romantic mood. But if you want to avoid passing lip sores between you and your partner, it’s best to avoid kissing them until the fever blister has had a chance to cool off.
4. Avoid Mouth Sore Triggers: Many things can trigger a cold sore outbreak. Get to know what causes your body to sprout lip sores and work to avoid them.
5. Use Sunblock: Overexposure to sunlight can spark a lip sore outbreak. Do your best to not dry out the skin on your lips.
6. Change Your Toothbrush Every 2 Months or Less: Bacteria tends to build up on our toothbrushes and it’s best to keep a fresh brush. Don’t wait for your dentist to hand you a new one ever six months. A fresh toothbrush will help keep your mouth clean and give you better smelling breath
7. Eat a Nutritious Diet: There’s not enough that can be said for eating healthy. Balance the vitamins you take in and make sure you aren’t eating too much grease and oils.
8. Take Lysine: Lysine helps slow the reproduction of viruses, including those that cause Herpes Simplex 1, or coldsores. Potatoes, chicken, beans, dairy and fish have high amounts of Lysine, so eat up. And while you’re at it, don’t eat so much chocolate.
9. Moisturize Your Lips: Keep your lips moisturized using a lotion, lip balm or jelly. This will help prevent them from chapping or drying out.

If you have other thoughts for how to prevent coldsores, share them in the comments on this post. Thanks!

Once we feel the tingle of a fever blister coming on, many of us immediately rush to the drug store to find some type of cold sore treatment. One of the top over-the-counter lip sore medicines people buy is Abreva.

Although many people buy Abreva, is it really the solution you should first turn to?

HOW ABREVA ATTACKS COLD SORES

Abreva is the only over-the-counter coldsore medicine that contains 10% Docosonal. What’s interesting that Docosonal is that it works to make cells surrounding your mouth sore impenetrable by the Herpes Simplex 1 virus, otherwise called herpes labialis. This helps prevent spreading of your mouth sores.

Abreva is safe for people 12 years old and older and should be applied 5-10 times per day until your lip sore improves, according to pharmacists. The company that produces Abreva says a common tube should help you battle through 2-3 episodes of coldsores.

PROBLEMS REGARDING ABREVA FOR LIP SORES

You should avoid using Abreva for lip sores inside the mouth and nose because its chemicals can be harmful to your mucous membranes. It’s OK to get a little on your sores inside your mouth, but if you’ve applied a lot, rise your mouth out immediately.

Also, Abreva will produce better results if you apply it in the early stages of a lip sore. If you wait for the mouth sore to form, Abreva will not be as effective in healing any type of fever blister.

SHOULD YOU USE ABREVA TO HEAL MOUTH SORES?

While Abreva is not a natural home remedy for cold sores, it can offer some immediate benefits for helping you to heal sores on lips quickly. In fact, Abreva is the only over-the-counter medicine that is FDA-approved for helping shorten the lifespan of a coldsore.

However, as you learned earlier, the average tube of Abreva lasts only as much as 3 fever blister episodes. If you want to heal cold sores, Abreva is something that can help you in the short term, but costs can rack up with each of cold sore treatment you buy.

The best thing you can do is work to prevent cold sores by avoiding fever blister triggers. This will help live more healthier overall and also help skirt the onset of new mouth sores.

Many people buy over the counter cold sore treatments, only to find they don’t work as great as advertised. Consequently, some home remedies for cold sores don’t work either.

In this article, you will learn about home remedy mistakes some people make when they try to naturally heal cold sores.

MOUTH SORES MUST BE STOPPED!

You aren’t alone with this problem. Many mouth sores are caused by the Herpes Simplex 1 virus, and it’s one you won’t shake with creams or pills.

Mouth herpes are not the same as genital herpes, but you are stuck with them for life if you contract them. And a lifetime of caring for lip blisters can get expensive.

Climbing costs of skin care treatments make many people start trying natural home remedies for cold sores. The problem with that is, sometimes our own methods don’t produce the results we were hoping.

4 COLD SORE HOME REMEDY MISTAKES

Here’s a list of mistakes that you should avoid when trying to heal coldsores:

Drying out the sore: Never. And we mean NEVER EVER! try to get rid of a cold sore by speeding up the drying out phase. In fact, you should do the exact opposite. Moisturizing your sores will help protect sores from growing and spreading. You will also reduce the possibility of scarring.

Squeezing your lip sores: Another No No. Bacteria and oils flourish on your fingers. When you squeeze or scratch or irritate your lip blisters, you potentially can cause a break in the skin where your fingers’ bacteria can then infect the open wounds. Touching them in this manner won’t help cure coldsores at all.

Scrubbing or over-washing lip blisters: Cold sores aren’t caused by an excessive amount of dirt on your face. You can’t scrub them away. Doing this can actually irritate the sore more and dry out the skin. This can cause them to spread bigger than they actually started.

Covering mouth sores with makeup: None of us like the way we look when we have sores on lips. We hate it! But one of the last things you should do is try to hide the blemish with makeup. Makeup contains chemicals that can aggravate a cold sore further. One more note: Don’t share your makeup or lipstick with anyone else if you are experiencing a mouth sore outbreak.

If something meaningful is about to happen in your life like a wedding, senior portraits, a big date, that job interview you just got – it is probably about time for a big coldsore to appear.

Something important is going on and suddenly coldsores come out of hiding. You ask yourself, “WHY ME?”

About 40 million people are affected by coldsores each year, so you are not alone.

You have a coldsore, now what?

In this article we are going to talk about coldsore treatment.  You will become educated with exactly what to do from start to finish.

What You Should Do Right Away

Most people experience a tingling sensation on their lip right before coldsore blisters emerge. It’s also been described as numbness or hardness around the mouth. Right away, when you feel the onslaught, whether your lip tingles or you begin to feel slightly run down with a fever, you should begin coldsore treatment.

Natural Coldsore Treatments: 9 Ways to Make It Pay

1. Take some Echinacea. This herbal remedy comes in capsules and a topical formula. Echinacea boosts the immune system. A weak immune system cannot fight coldsores.

2. Take Lysine supplements and try Lysine ointment. Lysine is an amino acid used to make proteins; your body gets Lysine through food you eat. If you don’t eat enough red meat, fish and beans then try taking a supplement so your body has a full supply of this anti-coldsore agent.

3. Get a lot of rest and eat a well balanced diet. Make sure you avoid salty, spicy and acidic foods because they will aggravate the sore. Make sure you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

4. Don’t pick or pop the coldsore blisters. It is best to let it heal naturally, without touching it.

5. Wash your hands constantly and try not to touch other parts of your body since this virus is seriously contagious. This also means that you need to stay away from anyone with a low immune system like older people, babies or anyone who is ill.

6. Wash around your cold sore a couple times a day. This will keep dirt and oil out of the sore and help it to remain clean and dry. You want your coldsore to be dry as this will help it shrink faster.

7. You can put some petroleum jelly on a Q-tip swab and dab onto the cold sore to shield it from dirt.

8. Ice it or put heat on it. Do whichever one feels better. Green tea bags sometimes work very well. Put the bag in boiling water and then let it cool slightly and apply to your coldsore. Don’t burn yourself! The green tea smells good and antioxidants are known healing agents. Ice can feel really good too because it is numbing and eases that throbbing pain.

9. Try new products and remedies. Since there isn’t a “cure” for coldsores every person finds what coldsore treatment works best for them. Some people can find the right combination for treating their blisters to prevent reoccurrence. For example, read my review of Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days.