Better Skin: How to Lessen Swelling of a Cold Sore Quickly

Cold sores or fever blisters can be annoying, not to mention unsightly. Such sores are the products of the herpes simplex virus. They will begin as red dots, then start puffing out, all itchy and tingling. As the blister gathers moisture and water, it gets larger, and even more embarrassingly conspicuous. Cold sores actually come from any contact of the herpes simplex virus with your mouth, perhaps early in your childhood. The virus picked out a host cell and moved into it. The cell, perhaps a nerve, then suffered to become the puppet of the virus, as the viral DNA gave orders to the host to produce more of the herpes simplex virus.
As the numbers grow, the virus multiplies, and the cold sores replicate. Such cold sores can turn up wherever they wish in your body, wherever their host cells lead them. If you have ever been disturbed and aggravated by a cold sore, you know how irritating they can be, and how ashamed you can feel whenever cold sores suddenly choose to wreak havoc. You might also have been tempted to prick it or pop it. Such methods, however, are dangerous, and can lead to more infections.

Here are a few methods you can use to lower the swelling on your cold sore, and have it disappear quickly. For more tips, consult with your doctor and find ways by which you can prevent even more cold sores from bugging you in the future.

- Because cold sores like moisture and dirt and need more water and bacteria to keep swelling, they can fade away if they are kept dry and clean. Wash the area around the cold sore regularly, and pat it dry.

- Buy a new toothbrush. Toothbrushes can incubate such cold sore-causing viruses for days at a time, so you can be infected once again after your last cold sore heals. Studies have shown that patients with cold sores were less likely to get them again if they replaced their toothbrushes after they discovered that they had a cold sore, and then after the cold sore healed.