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.

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.

Cold sores, also called fever blisters, can’t be cured, according to doctors. But if you’re set on finding something at the drug store to help heal cold sores, they can be treated using pain relievers and topical medicines. Abreva is a common cold sore medicine, but it can be costly.

PAIN RELIEF FOR FEVER BLISTERS

The best way to treat cold sores is to prevent them in the first place, but we all know that is easier said than done.

Since you need help now, here’s some medicines you can use to help ease your pain:

1. Ibuprofen: Also known as Motrin, Ibuprofen helps bring down the swelling on and around sores on your body. This helps reduce pain caused by lip sores.
2. Tylenol: Tylenol contains acetaminophen, which acts as a inhibitor to swelling in your body.
3. Cold Sore Ointment Anbesol: Anbesol contains benzocaine, local anesthetic used in topical pain relievers.
4. Cold Sore Ointment Zilactin: Zilactin contains benzyl alcohol
5. Apply Ice to Lip Sores: Ice also helps reduce swelling on cold sores and could help bring down the size of one that is growing.

Pain relief alone won’t stop your cold sore, but it at least will make it a little more bearable. In the meantime, you can take steps to help prevent cold sores.

Most Americans will experience a mouth herpes episode before they reach adulthood. After contracting the virus, humans are set with it for life, but it lies dormant for the most part until it is triggered out of remission.

Mouth Herpes (cold sores) are different then canker sores, which are sores that form on your tongue, roof of your mouth, inside of your cheek and inside of your lips, and fever blisters, which are lip sores on the outside of your mouth. Neither canker sores nor fever blisters are caused by the Herpes Simplex I Virus.

Mouth sores tend to last 3-14 days, often bursting with a white liquid after a few days and then forming an itchy crust. Those with mouth sores should avoid touching open sores.

Sounds nasty, doesn’t it?

What Causes Canker Sores

Canker sores and fever blisters are sparked by a number of factors. Here are some possible triggers:

• Weakened Immune System: Mouth sores tend to erupt in batches at times when our immune systems are at their weakest points.
• Irritation: Repeated rubbing of the gums, tongue, cheek or lips against a sharp object, such as a tooth or dental device can cause an outbreak of mouth sores.
• Deficient Nutrition: If you repeatedly suffer from mouth sores, you should consult your doctor. You doctor may recommend blood tests to scan you for nutritional deficiencies, such a lack of B Vitamins and Iron in your diet.
• Tiredness: Fatigue contributes to weakening your immune system.
• Stress: Emotional turmoil and stress can spark mouth sores.
• Exposure to Sunlight: Avoid extended exposure to direct sunlight.

Symptoms of Mouth Herpes
The Herpes Simplex 1 Virus affects not only affect the mouth, but can bey felt far throughout the body. Here are a few of the mouth herpes symptoms you should be aware of:

• Body Symptoms: Fever, tiredness, muscle aches, irritability
• Face Symptoms: Pain, burning and tingling in mouth area
• Mouth Symptoms: Appearance of oral sores
• Upper Body: Neck lymph node swelling and pain, swollen gums

Mouth Sores Treatment
Drug stores offer a number of creams and over-the-counter medicines that can help you combat the onset of mouth sores. If you are concerned, you should consider visiting a doctor who can give you a diagnosis of your sores. Your doctor may recommend blood tests to gauge how healthy of a diet you keep.

If you are considering treatment for you cold sores, give some thought to natural home remedy methods of cold sore treatment.

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.