Frequent cold sores, even with antiviral - help

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I've been having issues with cold sores since early January. For a couple months I would get them, and then usually one would appear as another was healing, or I would have at most one or two days of clear lips before another outbreak. My doctor put me on 1 gram valacyclovir once a day about a month ago. It has helped some; I had a week or so without any cold sores, and then I had one try to appear, put Abreva on it as soon as I noticed it, and within a couple days it was gone. However, for the past few days a cold sore has been developing. It's basically just small, hard to see bumps, so I wasn't sure at first, but it looks like the beginnings of a cold sore and has looked about the same for at least about 4 days now. It doesn't seem to be getting any better or worse but it's not going away. Is there anything else that can be done to help with these persistent cold sores? I am going to see my doctor about it soon, but I would like advice. I've already tried lysine tablets and it didn't help me at all. I really want to increase my dose of valacyclovir but I doubt that will happen because what I've seen online says 1 gram is the highest daily dose.

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4 Replies

  • Posted

    There is a couple of things you can look into! i have hsv2 but the triggers are some what the same!

    -Maybe you need to ask your doctor to switch antivirals, even just for a trial! Some suit people differently! Even for genital herpes the starting does for suppressive therapy is 500mg valtrex once a day!Maybe acyclovir or famcyclovir would suit you better!

    -making sure your in good health can help, i take a multivitamin daily along with zinc, lysine and sometimes extra vit B. I try to give myself some self love when im feeling run down or stressed!! keeping stress to a minimum, doing something that i find relaxing, sleeping well and exericise! also lots of water (especially being on antivirals)!! Diet can play a huge role to!! foods high in arginine are a huge no no if you are having a flair up! or should be taken in moderation! caffine, nuts ( peanuts are the worst) breads and pastas can allow the virus to reproduce! i dont like to limit myself with food but i try if i have a outbreak! or if im really craving something like pasta ill take a extra lysine or add more lysine foods in!!

    -sun exposure for oral herpes can be a trigger! use a high spf lipbalm and try cover your face when the sun is strong!

    sorry for the complete essay!! some times its just about finding what works for you! although herpes isnt the most favourable of things; it is kind of nice in away! It lets us know when we need are run down or somethings not right, it tells us when we need to look after ourselves more! i hope this helps 😃

  • Posted

    I found that applying hydrogen peroxide multiple times a day for several day helps dry out the sore. It normally will go away within a week I'd say or reduce in size, hope this helps.

  • Posted

    ive been dealing with cold sores since i was a kid.. abreva does not work. i used to pop them and use poroxide to dry out but it left a nasty scab . then i found this stuff i put it on at the first sign of one and dont mess with it i just reapply as needed and it is usually gone in 2 days!!!

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