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Apply an antiviral cream. Use a styptic pencil. Use a drying agent. Apply petroleum jelly.
Although a cold sore cannot be "cured", medications and treatments can ease your symptoms and speed up the natural healing process. Probably the quickest and easiest way to treat a cold sore is way a treatment you can get from your pharmacy or drug store without a prescription from your doctor. The three main types of cream are penciclovir, docosanol, and acyclovir. In a test of their antiviral effectiveness penciclovir came out on top. These creams will only be really effective if you apply them straightaway when the first signs of the cold sore are apparent. You will need to apply the cream frequently, up to five times a day for four or five days. Always check the label before using a cream. An alternative to a cream is to use a styptic pencil. This treatment is less specific for a cold sore but it can have a beneficial impact. You can use a styptic pencil to "draw" over the cold sore area once or twice a day, with the pencil applied directly to the cold sore. The Alum in the pencils causes blood vessels to contract, which helps to speed up the healing process within the sore. If you use this method you may find it a little painful and uncomfortable at first. One way to tackle a cold sore is through the application of a drying agent. Rubbing alcohol is one commonly used option. Make sure you get the 70 per cent solution, and apply to the cold sore with a cotton swab. The alcohol dries out the cold sore to help it heal and limits the chances of it becoming infected, which would greatly prolong it. A drying agent is particularly effective when the sores first appear. Zinc oxide and calamine lotion can dry out lesions. Another easily available treatment, which works in precisely the opposite way to the rubbing alcohol, is petroleum jelly. The jelly will soften the skin rather than drying it, and it provides a protective layer to guard against infection. Any kind of infection will greatly increase the lifespan of your cold sore, so a protective layer of petroleum jelly can help you get rid of it as soon as possible. When you are applying the petroleum jelly, do it gently and with clean fingers.