Home Remedies for Fever Blisters
Fever blisters (cold sores) are fluid-filled red blisters on the areas around the mouth, gums or lips. Its appearance is triggered after a person had fever, colds, fatigue, stress, exposure to the sun, menstruation, and other respiratory infection.
What are The Causes of Fever Blisters?
Herpes virus type 1 and herpes virus type 2 are the main cause of fever blisters. This virus which is already present in the body attacks when something triggers it. Fever blisters are also associated with low immune system. In addition, research found out that people suffering from fever blisters have low B12 content. Calcium deficiency is also said to be the cause of fever blisters.
Are Fever Blisters Contagious?
Fever blisters are contagious that is why when a person is infected with it, he/she should avoid practices like sharing of plates, cups, towels and other personal things to other person. Skin to skin contact should also be avoided to avoid transmission. It is also important to avoid kissing the person with fever blister.
What Should Be Done to Prevent Fever Blisters?
Occurrence of fever blisters is blamed for poor diet. Foods with high arginine that increase the herpes virus reproduction such as peanuts, chocolate, grains, seeds, peas, whole wheat products, and oatmeal should be avoided if you see signs of fever blisters. Taking calcium-rich drink such as milk or calcium supplement can lessen the chances of fever blister attack.
If you had fever blisters, change your toothbrush immediately.
Are There Any Home Remedies to Treat Fever Blisters?
Having fever blisters is painful. It can last for at least 2 weeks. The bad news is, there is no direct cure of fever blisters however, you can shorten your suffering with several home remedies available.
Here are Several Useful Home Remedies You Can Try if You Have Fever Blisters:
Take vitamin E to relieve the pain.
Take vitamin C supplements at least three times a day to shorten the duration of fever blisters. Zinc tablets are also effective to shorten the duration of fever blister.
For more natural way of treating it, use aloe by rubbing its juice to the area affected. This is most effective on the early stage of fever blister development.
Applying cornstarch on the affected area would lessen the duration.
Meanwhile, dabbing camphor with cotton ball on the area of the fever blister is another effective way of lessening the duration of the sore.
Aloe juice mixed with grapefruit seed extract is another effective way of treating blisters. Use it and you can see its healing effect. This mixture is very strong so you have to be gentle when applying it.
As a pain reliever, try dabbing ice cube on the affected area every 10-15 minutes for one hour. This can stop the further infection of the virus.
To speed up the healing, use an extract of lemon balm.
Eating yogurt is a good way to prevent fever blisters virus from growing. Make sure though that it is gelatin-free for gelatin can further worsen the blister.
Dimethyl sulfoxide or DMSO is another way to stop the growth of blister. It penetrates right on the infection thus speeding up the healing process.
To control the development of the virus, apply a tea bag on the affected area for 5-10 minutes every hour. It contains tannic acid, an effective component to prevent viral infections.
The Author:
S. Stammberger is editor of Dr Lee Health. Explore the world of home remedies and alternative health.
