Home Treatment
Most cold sores heal on their own. However, you can manage your symptoms at home by:
- Placing a cool, wet towel on the sores three times a day for 20 minutes each time to help reduce redness and swelling.
- Taking ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin) or acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) to reduce pain. Do not give aspirin to anyone under the age of 20 because of its link to Reye's syndrome.
- Using a mouth rinse containing baking soda to soothe a sore mouth.
- Avoiding foods that contain acid (such as citrus fruit and tomatoes).
- Using nonprescription ointments (such as Orajel, or Anbesol) that numb sore areas in the mouth or on the lips.
You can reduce the frequency of cold sore outbreaks by:
- Avoiding prolonged exposure of your lips to sunlight. (Wear a hat to help shade your mouth.)
- Avoiding intimate contact with people (such as kissing) who have cold sores or genital herpes.
- Using sunscreen at all times on your lips (in a lip balm form) and face, especially in the areas where you tend to have cold sores.
- Avoiding foods that seem to cause your cold sores to recur.
- Avoiding sharing towels, razors, silverware, toothbrushes, or other objects that a person with a cold sore may have used.
These measures may help prevent the spread of cold sores in children:
- Encourage frequent hand-washing.
- Do not let children share toys that other children put in their mouths.
- Clean toys occasionally with a disinfectant.
- If children have open or weeping cold sore blisters, keep them home until the blisters begin to scab over.
- Do not let children kiss each other while they have cold sores or uncontrollable drooling.
- Use gloves to apply medicated ointment to children's cold sores.
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