If you get cold sores, there are remedies available over the counter to help relieve the pain. The best thing you can do for yourself if you get cold sores frequently is to keep them moist with an ointment you can get at any pharmacy location. Do not try to use any kind of waxy stick to keep them moist. You will just do more harm than good because the hard wax will catch and pull on your lips and rip open the cold sores. Cold sores are painful enough, they do not need any help in the hurt department.

Cold sores are sometimes called fever blisters and are characterized by the small clusters of blisters that form on your lips and on the skin around the outside of your mouth. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus 1 or 2. They can cause incredible pain and be very embarrassing especially if you get them often.

If you do happen to get frequent cold sores remedies are available from your doctor. You should consider seeing your doctor if the cold sores you get cause severe pain, a sore throat, swollen lymph glands, or a fever. Your doctor can treat cold sores with an antiviral medication that will decrease the severity and frequency of the cold sores you get. If you get lucky you may not have an outbreak for a year or even two.

Although the herpes simplex virus has no cure, the symptoms associated with the cold sores caused by the virus can be controlled with the right treatment from your doctor.

To prevent outbreaks from happening in the first place try to steer clear of stressful situations. Stress can and will trigger cold sores to form. Excessive exposure to sunlight can trigger cold sores also. So, make sure to use a sunscreen when you will be out in the sun for a long periods of time. Sometimes it seems as if just thinking about them can trigger them and that is the worst of all, basically getting them for no reason.

If you have a cold sore do what you can to not transfer the virus to anyone else. Wash your hands frequently and do not touch your mouth. You will infect anything you touch after touching your mouth so be very careful. Do not share eating utensils, cups, or any other item you have used with another person or you will pass on the virus to them.

Other triggers include getting a cold or flu. Sometimes you will get a cold sore instead of a cold or the flu which to some, may be a blessing in disguise. I would much rather have to deal with getting a cold sore rather than dealing with a cold or the flu.

There are several remedies on the market and you should try them to see which ones work best for you. Some may work to help heal the cold sores a little sooner and some may just relieve the pain better than others. Mostly you just need to manage the symptoms with the over the counter cold sores remedies that are available.