Cold sores or fever blisters are a collection of tiny fluid-filled blisters that usually occur on lips or the skin surrounding lips. Cold sores on nose or gums are quite rare. Any one at any age can get this problem. Type 1 herpes simplex virus is the cause of this problem. The blisters are red in color and pain, itch and tingle a lot. It is highly contagious in nature. Close contact with blisters or infected saliva or even apparently normal skin that is expelling virus leads to spreading of cold sores. A single blisters infection may be followed by other fever blisters infections later in life. After the first infection, the virus enters nerve cells and makes its way to the ganglion and resides there in dormant form. Later sometime it may become active again, multiply and travel down to the nerve to reach the skin and cause fever blisters. The factors triggering this problem may be listed as follows

1. Fever
2. Cold and flu
3. Sun exposure
4. Hormonal changes
5. Trauma to skin
6. Stress
7. Changes in immune system

It may recur time and again on the same place. Generally burning or tingling sensation precedes the appearance of cold sore.

Home Remedies

1. Gently rub ice cubes on cold sore for 10 minutes. This relieves itching.

2. Blend 3 ml carbolic acid and 100 ml coconut oil. Apply the mixture on affected area thrice daily. This will heal it.

3. Place tea bags on fever blisters and hold for 10-15 minutes. Keep repeating this at an interval of 1 hour. This will ease the pain

4. Application of a paste of margosa leaves on fever blisters is a good curative measure.

5. Place a lemon slice on the tingling skin. Replace it with a fresh slice after 10-15 minutes. This prevents cold sore outbreaks. Drinking of glassful lemon juice thrice a day also empowers you to fight this virus.

6. Soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and dab the fever blisters with it. This heals the sore quickly.

7. Use sliced garlic on fever blisters. Garlic is a great infection fighter and thus works wondrously.

8. Apply raw whole milk on fever blisters. Raw milk bears a fat called monocaprin that destroys this virus.

9. Tea tree oil application is a good natural cure.

10. You can apply camphor spirit to do away with this problem.

11. Wash blisters with salt water. This kills germs and cures them.

12. Avoid whole wheat products, chocolates, peanuts, peas, salty,,oily and spicy food

13. Reduce the intake of tea and coffee and stay away from smoking.

14. Do not keep touching the cold sore blisters and dare not to squeeze them. This will only aggravate pain.

Read more Home Remedies for Cold Sores. Also know useful Home Remedies for Chickenpox. Read effective Home Remedies for Chapped and Dry Lips.

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