How to Heal Lip Sores
A lip sore, sometimes called a cold sore, is a painful and painfully embarrassing group of blisters that appears on the lip and around the mouth. The most common cause of a lip sore is the herpes simplex virus, which is contagious but not life-threatening. There are a number of ways to treat lip sore outbreaks, although there is no cure for the virus itself. Follow these simple steps.
Instructions
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Prevent outbreaks. Although there is no hard and fast way to predict a lip sore outbreak, there are some definite patterns involved. The sun is one of the most common triggers of outbreaks, so if you're out on a sunny day, wear a hat that shades your entire face. Lip sore sufferers also report a connection between sores and increased stress levels, so do your best to manage stress.
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Take a B12 vitamin supplement. Many people report that a B12 vitamin supplement helps to reduce the pain of lip sores and speed the healing process. Take a B12 supplement at the dose recommended by the vitamin producer the moment you feel a sore start to form.
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Treat your immune system right. A faulty or overworked immune system is more likely to allow a lip sore outbreak than a healthy system. Keep your immune system strong by taking vitamin C supplements, reducing daily stress and eating yogurt with live cultures. A strong immune system can help prevent lip sores from appearing in the first place.
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Apply aloe. Juice from an aloe plant is well-known to have a number of positive effects on the skin. Apply some aloe juice or gel as soon as you begin to feel the onset of a sore.
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Use ice. Ice can help prevent a lip sore from becoming painful, and it can keep the lip sore from spreading around the lip and mouth. Apply ice every 10 minutes for an hour as soon as you feel a sore emerge.
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Tips & Warnings
Genital herpes, a more serious variety of the virus that causes most lip sores, can be transmitted through unprotected oral-genital contact with an infected partner. Use protection or avoid oral sex when you or your partner have any herpes symptom.
