Cold Sore Treatment

What are Cold Sores?

Cold sores, sometimes called fever blisters, are groups of small blisters that can form around the lips, mouth, chin, cheeks, or less commonly nostrils that are caused by the herpes simplex virus. This virus usually enters the body through a break in the skin around or inside the mouth. They can be spread when a person touches a cold sore or contacts the infected fluid from sharing eating utensils or razors, or through kissing or touching that person’s saliva. A parent who has a cold sore often spreads the infection to his or her child in this way.

Facts about cold sores:

• They are caused by the Herpes Simplex Type 1 virus
• They are highly contagious
• They turn into yellow-crusted sores
• They disappear within fourteen days of an outbreak
• They reoccur and there is no known cure

Cold Sore Containment

Cold sores (fever blisters) generally last two to three weeks if not treated. Laser therapy is a great option to help treat cold sores in their early stages. If you have a cold sore, these are some of the steps you can take to help with your recovery and also keeping others safe:

• Prevent cold sores before an outbreak occurs. For example, if your outbreaks are triggered by exposure to the sun, wear sunscreen or zinc oxide on your lips or other vulnerable places. Limiting exposure to sunlight may help prevent outbreaks.
• Relieve the pain fever blisters cause when they occur
• Give your cold sores time to heal, and try not to cover them up with excess makeup so they can dry out.
• Prevent spreading the virus to others by avoiding touching the area, using hand sanitizer, and by not sharing lip chap or products that may come into contact with the cold sore

How can I know if the painful lesion that appeared on my lip is really a cold sore or not?

• You experience tingling, itching or pain around that affected area of your lips or mouth
• A blister appears after tingling, itching or pain around the affected area
• The blister breaks open
• Clear fluid secretes from it
• A yellow crust forms over the blister as the area begins to heal.
• The blister takes 2-3 weeks to heal

Cold Sore Treatment

Treatment may include skin creams, ointments, or sometimes pills. This type of treatment may only get rid of the cold sores only one to two days faster, but it can lessen the uncomfortable symptoms. A more effective way to treat cold sores is through laser therapy.

Laser Therapy

Cold sores are best treated and kept under control in their early stages. Laser therapy can keep an outbreak from occurring if caught in time. As soon as you feel the sensations of tingling or pain in the area where the cold sore is starting, give us a call at Dentist in Sidney.

Because there is no known cure for cold sores, they will occur over and over once you have caught the virus. Often they will come back in the same spots over time if not treated with laser therapy.

After laser treatment, the nerve cells around the area are deadened which provides instant pain relief.

If on the day you have an appointment with the dentist a cold sold appears, it is best to cancel your appointment. Having your lip tugged on during your dental appointment can be very painful and increase symptoms. If it is the second or third day following its appearance, you should be able to keep your dental appointment. Usually, a cold sore has crusted over by the second or third day.

Some Benefits of Laser Therapy

• Affordable
• Laser energy destroys the virus that causes the sore
• Relief is immediate and profound
• Treatment can prevent sores occurring if treated once the lip starts tingling
• Stops the progression of the lesion after treatment
• Gives you faster healing
• Treatment takes just a few minutes without anesthesia
• After treatment, sores reoccur with less intensity and frequency at the same location

After laser treatment, the nerve cells around the area are deadened which provides instant pain relief. If you catch the lesion in time, you can prevent the cold sore from breaking out, which is the most painful stage of a cold sore.

At Dentist in Sidney, we have two soft tissue diode lasers that we use to treat your cold sores. Why not give us a call today to discuss how we can help you with your cold sores?