Right, so you've got a cold sore on your lip that's seriously cramping your style. You want to get rid of it ASAP and you've probably learned the hard way that the prescription stuff doesn't really do much and neither do the creams, they maybe reduce the duration of the outbreak by a day or two at best, correct?



Ok, so a cold sore means you've got the herpes simplex virus, and we need to get a couple things out of the way first concerning that: you can't ever cure it, once you've got it you've got it, and you're contagious and capable of spreading the disease to other people up to a week before and after you have an outbreak so even if you don't have a cold sore that you can see you could still be capable of infecting someone if you're about to have one or you just got rid of one, ok?

The lip is the most common place to get a cold sore, and a cold sore (aka oral herpes, orofacial herpes, and herpes labialis) is the most common manifestation that the herpes simplex virus (HSV) takes. However, you should know that you can also get them on your nose and even in your eyes and, rarely, fingers and toes (oh that's weird, isn't it?).

How to get rid of a cold sore on you lip

1. Keep the area iced--put an ice cube on it for about 10 minutes at a time once every 2 hours.

2. Use a sterilized needle (use isopropyl rubbing alcohol) to carefully puncture and then drain the sore using a kleenex or toilet paper to blot it and absorb that nasty virus-laden liquid. Treat it like a zit: you really want to get all that stuff out of there and keep it as dry as possible.

3. Wash it...frequently. Use soap and a wash cloth, and I'd recommend using a new, fresh wash cloth each time so you don't spread it to other areas of your face.

4. Apply some benzyl alcohol (also called "Zilactin"), or witch hazel or rubbing alcohol depending on which you can get ahold of (although benzyl alcohol is best--it's one of the few home treatments I found recommended on the Mayo Clinic's website) by dabbing it on with a q-tip. Do this once every 2 hours or so after you've washed and iced it.

5. Start taking 1000mg of lysine 3 times per day. It's been proven over and over again to help not only fight but also prevent cold sores. It's a safe, over-the-counter supplement that you can get at your local drug store or GNC (or similar store).

A little added tip: I've heard from friends that something else which really helps is to put some nail polish remover or clearasil on the cold sore to help keep it dry and soak up all the fluid until you can wash and drain it again. I'd use a q-tip to do this as well, you don't want to be touching it with your fingers.