Herpecin-L Lip Balm Stick, SPF 30

Apply Herpecin when you feel your lips begin tingling.  This balm is known to stop cold sores in their tracks.  There are a lot more reviews out there about Carmex but I think that is because Carmex has been around longer and therefore has a greater loyalty.

Herpecin is a really great product and it has cured my lip sores before they even get to the blister stage.

Ingredients:

Sunscreen – Sun burn is known to agitate the skin and cause lip sores
Lemon Balm, Vitamin B6 – skin conditioner
Dimethicone – seals moisture in skin
Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Lysine – antioxidants

Carmex Cold Sores Click Stick Lip Moisturizer with Sunscreen, Cherry Flavor, SPF 15

Carmex Lip Balm seals in lip moisture and helps prevents your lips from getting dried out or wind burned. Sun is a known culprit in causing cold sores and lip sores so having the double feature of sunscreen along with the moisturizer is a great way to cure lip sores.

Carmex is a long, trusted brand in cold sore prevention and relief.  Many people swear by it and take Carmex with them wherever they go.  For a while I even heard rumors that Carmex had addictive qualities.
It doesn’t, if you are worried.

Besides the somewhat medicinal taste of Carmex, it works really well at relieving burning, itching and swelling of mouth sores.  Carmex, in my experience, has never prevented a cold sore from appearing like Herpecin does but Carmex does an excellent job at keeping lips moisturized and soft, which will keep cold sores from happening in the long run.  If you wear Carmex daily you’ll probably have fewer mouth sores.

If I were you I would not buy the flavored Carmex.  Scents and added dyes can irritate your lip sore further.  It is always best to stick with an all natural product with no added flavors–although the flavored type is tempting to buy since Carmex doesn’t taste great.

Active Ingredients:
Octinoxate
Oxybenzone

Inactive Ingredients:
Petrolatum
Lanolin
Meadow Foam
Seed Oil
Camphor
Menthol
Phenol
Salicylic Acid in a mixture of fragrance

Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment

Blistex offers hydrating lip therapy for extremely chapped lips.  Chapped lips leave lips sore and dry and this can cause a lip sore outbreak.  The nice thing about Blistex is that the menthol in it makes your lips instantly feel cool and refreshed.  It relieves burning and itching right away and it doesn’t have the waxy taste associated with Herpecin or Carmex.  Blistex has a nourishing feel but again, it doesn’t prevent or cure a cold sore; it does help relieve the lip sores once they come though.

At the first sign of a lip sore, fever blister or severe chapping or sunburn rub this ointment on your lips to soothe and protect them.

Like Carmex (with flavoring) Blistex does offer balms that have added flavors.  This can cause further irritation to your sores if you have a bad reaction to it.  Keep this in mind when making your product choice.

Active Ingredients:
Allantoin
Camphor
Menthol
Phenol

Inactive Ingredients:
ammonium hydroxide
beeswax
calcium disodium EDTA
calcium hydroxide
cetyl alcohol
dimethicone
flavors
glycerin
lanolin
lauric acid
mineral oil
myristic acid
oleic acid
palmitic acid
paraffin
petrolatum
polyglyceryl-3 diisostearate
potassium hydroxide
purified water
SD alcohol
silica
sodium hydroxide
sodium saccharin
stearyl alcohol

Be aware of ingredients and allergies.  If you are allergic to any of the ingredients listed do not use that product.  A small amount of an ingredient you are allergic to applied to an open sore can seriously negatively affect your good intentions and cause more pain.

The fact is, lip sores are extremely contagious.  They are most contagious when the blisters are opened and not scabbed yet.  The pus is the cold sore virus and when you have open mouth blisters this virus is available to contaminate the world.

You want to be sure to keep your hands very clean and be sure not to touch at your mouth.  This can be difficult since you are probably self-conscious of your lip sore and it is easy to touch at the area subconsciously, please try not to do this.

Wash your hands and carry sanitizer with you while you are suffering with a cold sore outbreak.  Clean hands will prevent you from spreading the virus to others and it will also protect you from reinfecting yourself.

Be very careful not to touch, scratch or rub at your eyes after touching your lip sore.  Having the Herpes Simplex 1 virus in your eye is dangerous and can cause blindness.

You can transmit the cold sore virus by kissing and by oral sex!  Don’t share chap stick, towels, beverage glasses, or eating utensils-unless you are trying to pay back someone for giving you a cold sore.

It is especially important to stay away from the elderly, infants and ill people when you have contagious lip sores.  These people are especially susceptible to the virus and could end up getting very ill if they are exposed and contract a lip sore.  With a low immune system their bodies don’t have the ability to fight off the virus and therefore they get extremely sick and may have multiple out breaks.

Lips have a large amount of nerve endings in them which makes them extremely sensitive to touch and temperature.  This means that lips are also incredibly sensitive to pain.  Since lips don’t have sweat glands or pores like the rest of your skin, they aren’t as susceptible to pimples.  However, the Herpes Simplex 1 virus feasts on the soft skin of your lips.

Lip sores can’t be cured like a pimple on lip because they are two completely different types of break outs.  A pimple isn’t a virus, it is a clogged pore.  A pimple also isn’t contagious, although it can feel like they are when they all come together at once.  You should never squeeze or pop lip sores in the way that you would a pimple.  This can cause your cold sore to become really irritated and that only causes more throbbing and burning for you to have to deal with.

Lip sores are highly contagious and they come from a virus known as the Herpes Simplex 1 virus.  Also, those who carry this virus in their system will always have it; there is no cure.  There are many ways to prevent lip sores and cold sores from happening just like there is for getting pimples.  However, the prevention does not always work and sometimes we break out no matter our attempts to stop it.

Check out my Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days review to learn about cold sores and the secrets to treating them and getting them to go away forever!

If you are doing any of the things listed here and getting lip sores, fever blisters or mouth sores…then stop!

Infected By Other People

Cold sores are always contagious however, they are most contagious when they break and the sore is weeping.  The pus inside contains thousands of viruses.  Do not kiss or share chap stick or utensils with a person with lip sores!

Stress

Any type of stress to your body can trigger a cold sore.  Being ill, traveling and dental work can all affect the Herpes Simplex 1 virus and it will attack.  Not having good nutrition or enough rest will also make you prone to getting lip sores.

Sun

Long exposure to the sun has been associated with lip sore development.  The sun contains Ultra Violet rays and this is what causes an outbreak.

Reinfected By Yourself

Be sure to wash your hands and all washcloths and towels used on your face during your cold sore infection.  Since lip sores are so contagious you can easily spread the virus to another part of your body or reinfect your mouth with another sore.  Don’t touch at the sore unless you are by a sink with soap and can immediately sanitize your hands!

Hormonal Change

Women are vulnerable to lip sores during their menstrual cycles.  This hormonal change seems to stress the body just enough to cause a skin eruption.  Acne works the same way, puberty/changes in hormonal balance will trigger an outbreak.

The Herpes Simplex 1 virus isn’t completely understood.  Some people are completely immune to getting a cold sore while others can be infected time and time again.  This are only the 5 common causes of lip sores, you could be a healthy person who stays out of the sun, gets plenty of exercise and never leaves home without hand sanitizer and still be a victim of lip sore break outs.

For more information on treatment go to mouth sores treatment.

I’ll share 3 useful tips with you that are 100% natural, holistic ways to treat lip sores and cold sores.

Firstly, I suggest you buy the informational product listed on this website.  Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days is an Ebook that includes everything you want to know about cold sores and healing cold sores and lip sores.

Chances are, if your lip sore is itchy it has blistered and scabbed already.  This is when the lip sore is at it’s ugliest and itchiest!

The best things to do during this time for itchy lip sores:

-Soak a green tea bag in hot water.  Take the bag out and let it cool for a minute then place the tea bag on your lip sore.  Green tea has healing anti oxidants and the warm tea bag on your lip sore will alleviate pain.

-Mix some water and alum (can be found in the spice aisle at the grocery store) together to make a paste.  Apply this to your lip sore, it helps to shrink the sore and take away the stinging, itchy sensation.  Wash off after letting it soak into your sore for about 2 minutes.

-Apply tea tree oil to your lip sore with a Q-tip.  Tea tree oil can stay on your cold sore and be left to soak in.  Apply frequently to shrink your lip sore but be careful that you do not over-dry the area and make it more painful.