Coldsores are completely hidden by hands and hair.
Great weapons and as you can see, discreet too.
It’s cold. Stressful. Harrowing. It’s Winter/Spring in England. A time for Chapstick and Woolly socks to claim their places in your favourite items list. Your flowery dresses and sandals lay packed away, in hibernation.
Then disaster strikes. Stress bubbles up. Perhaps a death, a divorce, a move of home, or just a boss you want to throttle.
Suddenly you wake up feeling like you have swapped lips with a hen. Tight and pursed. You stumble to the bathroom to be greeted with a bump. It’s no Everest. Ben Nevis maybe.
A cold sore. Curses!
You shake your fist at the Flying Spaghetti Monster/ God/ Vishnu.
"Why now? Why Me?! "And you panic. But don't! Here’s my down low of things I've done to get rid of them, in varying levels of success
.
1 – Attack!
Open the sore. Ouch. Peel off any dead skin. Get the goop out using a clean cotton bud. Next – brace yourself for a Home Alone style scream. Apply Bleach or Nail varnish remover using a fresh cotton bud.
Scream. Wait for it to dry up. Do not swallow. You will die if it is ingested. Hold off food for a bit.
Grim, painful, and a last resort if you have a date.
2. Softly Softly!
Apply a tea bag to the lump. A cool one, mind, don’t want a burn as well. The tannin will help soothe the itch and will also remove some of the redness. Check in a mirror afterwards to avoid the look of the tea stained weirdo.
3. Go Medical!
Germolene has a numbing agent in it, is antiseptic and costs a quid. Slather onto the sore and leave it. It takes about a week to get rid.
4. Keep it clean!
Keep picking at it, removing the scab and washing with soapy water, drying and so on. Repeat many times a day. This involves a lot of looking shady in a public bathroom, but the sore will dry up and will feel cleaner. This always makes me feel a lot better.
Coldsore Care Tips
- Try not to touch it.
- Avoid hot water – it seems to thrive in moisture. Cold showers and less exercise are ideal. (Woohoo a week off running!)
- Try east lysine in a capsule form, this prevents them.
- Avocados also help reduce them. Try have one a month (I never remember this!)
- Change your toothbrush after an attack and don’t wipe your face on your towel
- Don’t kiss or do naughty things (yuck)
- Pick off the dead skin when possible and keep applying an antiseptic or a hand sanitiser
Things to avoid.
- Ear wax. Honestly, this is an internet idea. Gross! If you want wax, crack open a Yankee Candle, don’t dog into your ears.
- Toothpaste- useless and stings, before sticking in the wound. To prevent looking like you have had intimate relations with a snowman you then have to pick the bits of white out of your open sore. Painful.
- Salt – Never had any success in this, apart from learning how slugs feel!
- Zovirax – Expensive and only any use for me when I was new to coldsores- eg 6. Nowadays I need Zovirax times 10000 to even start working.
Fear not if you have an ugly sore as you read this. They are here for but a week. Celebrity faces get them, and they are at least a talking point. ( That's a shitty silver lining, but you get the idea.)
Much love
Morethanakeyword xx
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