While you can’t “cure mouth blisters” you can use several over-the-counter medicines to help get over these mouth sores quickly.

WHAT ARE CANKER SORES?

Canker Sores, also called mouth blisters, are small sores that appear on the inside of the mouth. Sometimes referred to as mouth ulcers, these sores can show up on the tongue, roof of the mouth, cheek and inside of the lip.

Here’s the kicker too, no one knows what causes mouth blisters.

Canker sores are not like cold sores, which only occur on the outside of the mouth and sometimes in the nose.

But like cold sores, mouth blisters are incredibly painful and very irritating. They typically last 1-2 weeks. You can choose from several medicines to help speed up the healing process.

BEST OTC CANKER SORES TREATMENT

The following medicines will help you heal blisters in the mouth:

Anbesol – A topical ointment that comes in a tube and can be applied for relieving pain from toothaches, canker sores, cold sores and even teething in babies.

Orajel – This medicine works on mouth blisters but is also heavily geared toward toothaches.

Orabase – Produced by Colgate, Orabase contains Benzocaine, which inhibits pain from recurring canker sores.

Zilactin-B - Mouth sore gel that works to form a bioadhesive barrier that covers the lip blister. It’s formulated to last as many as 6 hours with re-applying.

Have you used any of these medicines? Which one works best for you?

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!

They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  That’s certainly true with reducing mouth herpes breakouts. Avoiding factors like stress and ultraviolet light goes a long way towards preventing a breakout. There are also viral suppression medications that can be taken daily for people who suffer from frequent (6 or more times per year) breakouts.

Best Mouth Sores Killer #2 – Oral Medications

Valtrex (generic name Valacyclovir) is an oral medication which has been shown to reduce pain and shorten healing time. It has only been shown to be effective if used before the appearance of a cold sore. On it works by stopping or slowing the reproduction of the virus.

Best Mouth Sores Killer #3 – Topical Medications

Zovirax (generic name Acyclovir) is an FDA approved cream which has (like Valtrex) been shown to shorten healing time. Sometimes you can’t (or don’t want to) go to a doctor and are stuck with what’s available over the counter. Abreva is a topical cream that is available over the counter for treating cold sores.  For treating the symptoms alone (for reducing pain and itching), we recommend Carmex gel.

There are also natural treatments available for cold sores.  We recommend the Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days system if you are interested in a natural solution.

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.

Many People Get Mouth Sores and They Are Very Common

The American Social Health Association says that between 50 and 80 percent of the adult population in the US has mouth herpes, with as many as 90% having the virus by age 50.  So it goes from “most people” to “nearly everyone” as we age.  Recurrent canker sores affect 1 in 5 Americans.

Most People Won’t Even Notice a Visible Cold Sore

Think about when you have seen others with what you thought “could” be a mouth sore.  You probably weren’t sure what it was (unless they told you) and you would might have been too embarrassed to ask. If it was a man, maybe it was a cut from shaving. If it was a women, maybe she had a lip waxing accident.

No matter what though, you probably stopped thinking about it pretty quickly. That’s how most people react when they notice a mouth sore. A quick “I wonder what that is” and that’s it. You don’t have to be embarrassed, if you don’t draw attention to your mouth sores then others will likely not notice at all. Even if they do they won’t say anything.

If someone does ask you about the mouth sore, you can make a joke like “I ran into the wall” and if they press you further just give them a dirty look. Its none of their business, and it shouldn’t stop you from having a great time out.

For cutting down on the number of cold sore breakouts, I recommend the Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days guide. It’s a great resource for reducing and shortening breakouts. But however you treat your mouth sores remember that they don’t run your life and they shouldn’t stop you from having fun or make you miss a big day.

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.