Valtrex is an example of prescribed medication for treating herpes. Treating, because you cannot cure herpes with any medications. What the medicine does is help control your outbreaks, which makes it less transmissible and less bothersome.

EVEN while on this medication it is still possible to spread herpes.

There are no over-the-counter products which have been found to shorten the length of cold sores after initial appearance. Only prescription antivirals, such as Zovirax or Valtrex along with ointments like Zovirax or Denavir have been found to effectively prevent or treat cold sores. These products will shorten their appearance from 10 days to about 5 days.

TJT123:

What I use to dry out a cold sore in order for it to go quicker is Mouthwash! Just get a piece of kitchen/toilet paper (a clean piece of course) and put the paper (folded up to make it thicker) over the top of the mouthwash bottle and then turn it all over so the mouth wash pours on the paper cleanly. Then, hold the mouthwash soaked paper on the cold sore. Do NOT move it around or take it off for at least 1-2 minutes as this will spread the cold sore to other areas around the face. Repeat this process every 2-4 hours and the cold sore should dry out the cold sore well. Before going to bed hold the mouthwash on for a bit longer if wanted as its a well known fact that the body is much better at healing when your sleeping!

The Mouthwash Trick not only helps to dry out the cold sore but also kills bacteria in and around the area to stop the cold sore getting worse due to infection (etc).

This method of drying the cold sore out can after removal of the paper begin to sting on the cold sore and surrounding area, or you may get a throbbing sensation, although the outcome is totally worth it!

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Pat Stacey/ID2541137212:

Hydrogen Peroxide and LOTS of vitamins.

Also, a few other ways that seem to work:

1. Obviously, topical, over-the-counter creams from the pharmacy, e.g. Zovirax. They don't really speed up healing but they can prevent a sore from appearing.

2. Garlic oil, applied topically.

3. Aloe vera.

There is no real cure for a cold sore. This is part of the Herpes virus and is highly transmissible when you have an outbreak, and possible to transmit when you don't - although rare. As indicated above you can treat it to assist in the prevention, or healing but once you have the virus you will always have it. Getting enough rest, reducing your stress and eating healthy will prevent outbreaks. It is possible to have one outbreak in your live and then never again, or to have them frequently. If you do have them often examine when they appear to try to determine what is brining them out, do you get them during stressful situations? Did you eat poorly recently? etc.

I know how bad a cold sore could be but the best way is cleaning it every hour with soup and water on a paper towel and the puss will come out. Also you can use abreva or other. Good luck will your cold sore hope this helps.

it has to run its course but here are a few things to do to avoid the intensity of the cold sore and its symptoms. Don't expose yourself to the sun for long periods of time, get lots of rest, don't pick at it, this will only make it spread. If you do touch it, WASH your hands immediately! Stay away from foods like chocolate and peanut butter. Use a warm tea bag and place it on the cold sore for about 30 minutes. Ice also helps relieve the inflammation. Keep it covered with an ointment whether its medicinal or something like Carmex (OTC). Sleep or rest is very important because your immune system is compromised during this time. You can also buy Abreva (OTC) which works very well on the symptoms or have your doctor prescribe Acyclovir which is an ointment for viral infections. The sooner you start to treat the symptoms, the sooner it will go away (back into it's dormant state). REMEMBER, WASH your hands even after applying these ointments. Stress, weather, long exposure to extreme temperatures either hot or cold, an unhealthy diet are predisposing factors for the virus to come out of its dormant stage.

There are many drugs used to treat viral infections. The drugs used to treat topical viral infections such as Herpes Simplex type I are: acyclovir (zovirax), Docosanol (Abreva), penciclovir (Denavir). Drugs used to treat Herpes Zoster include Capsaicin (Capsin, Zostix, Zostix-Hp). Drugs used to treat systemic viral infections come in many categories as listed below: Drugs for Aids: -CD4 lymphocytes Nucleoside and nucleotide Inhibitor drugs for HIV/AIDS: -Abacavir (Ziagen); Adefovir (Dipivoxil); Didanosine (DDI, Videx); Emtricitabine (FTC, Coviracil); Lamivudine (3TC, Epivir); Stavudine (d4T, Zerit); Tenofovir (Viread); Zalcitabine (ddC, Hivid); Zidovudine (AZT, Aztec, Retrovir) Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor: -Delavirdine (Rescriptor); Efavirenz (Sustiva); Nevirapine (Viramune) Protease Inhibitor: -Amprenavir (Agenerase); Indinavir (Crixivan); Neflinavir (Viracept); Ritonavir (Novir); Saquinavir (Fortovase, Invirase) Combination Drugs: -Kaletra (Lopinavir, Ritonavir); Combivir (Lamivudine/ Zidovudine); Scriptene (didanosine, Zidovudine); Trizivir (Abacavir, Lamivudine, Zidovudine) Other Drugs used for HIV/AIDS: -aldesleukin (Porleukin); Ampligen; Atevirdine mesylate; AZDU; Calanolide A; carbovir; CD4 human immunoglobulin; cytolin; Dextran Sulfate; Diethyldthiocarbamate (Imuthiol); Foscarnet (Foscavir); Gamimune N Immunoglobulin (Hivig); Hydroxyurea (Hydrea, Mylocel); Immune globulin (Gamimune N); Immupath; Interferon alfa-n3 (alferon LDO); Interferon beta-1a (Avonex, Rebif); Interferon beta-1b (Betaseron); Interleukin-10 (Tenovil); Lidakol; Multikine; Probucol (Panavir); Recombinant human CD4 (Receptin); Soluble T4; Thymopentin (Timunox); Trichosanthin; tumor necrosis factor; VaxSyn HIV - 1; Zintevir.