Medicine For Cold Sores
There are a now a number of medicine for cold sores that are effective in alleviating pain and discomfort and preventing them from reoccurring.
Medicine for cold sores include over-the-counter and prescription drugs. There are also other treatment methods which include home remedies and natural herbs. This article mainly focuses on medicinal approaches for cold sore treatment.
Over the Counter Medicine for Cold Sores
Most over-the-counter cold sore medications are only palliative, that means they can only relieve cold sore symptoms such as pain and itching.
Many of them can also help provide a sterile environment to prevent the development of more sores and promote healing. Here are the available OTC medications for cold sores:
- Inhibitory medicines. Cold sore inhibitory medications such as Lipreve and Viroxyn have been found to hasten recovery from cold sores, and alleviating the discomfort.
- Docosanol-based products. Docosanol has inhibitory effects on the herpes simplex 1 virus (hsv-1), which is the main causative agent for oral herpes (herpes labialis) and cold sores. Thus, docosanol products are suggested to limit the severity and the duration of cold sores.
- Numbing agents. Lysine, phenol, zinc and tannic acid and benzocaine have all been seen to have antiviral properties and they inhibit the aggravation of cold sores. Banadyne-3 cold sore treatment, which involves the use of a benzocaine-based gel, is one of OTC treatments for cold sores.
- Moisturizers. Lip balms serve to protect the affected area and soften the scabs that eventually form to minimize the possibility of cracking and bleeding. These products many contain pertolatum and allantoin.
- Sun screens. Lip balms with sunscreen and zinc oxide are also effective in protecting the mouth area from harmful sunlight that might trigger another onset of cold sores.
Prescription Cold Sore Medicine
The three most popular anti-viral cold sore treatment prescription medicines are: acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir) and valacyclovir (Valtrex).
They are reported to be very effective in counteracting cold sore symptoms, in relieving pain and itching and preventing cold sore reoccurrence. However, anti-viral that they are, none of them has the innate ability to eliminate the HSV-1 completely out of the body.
List of Medicines for Fever Blisters
Here is a list of the most popular over-the-counter medications that promote cold sore cure:
| Medicine | Suggested Effect |
| Abreva (Allotonin) | Moisturizer/Protector |
| Burt's Bees Sunscreen | Moisturizer/Protector |
| Banadyne-3 | Numbing agent/Inhibitory |
| Campho-phenizue | Numbing agent |
| Herpecin-L Lip Balm | Moisturizer/Protector |
| Herpetrol | Moisturizer/Protector |
| Lipreve | Palliative/Inhibitory (oral) |
| Orajel Multi-Action Medicine Gel | Numbing agent |
| Penciclovir (Denavir) | Inhibitory |
| Viradent Gel Cold Sore Treatment | Numbing agent |
| Viraderm | Inhibitory |
| Viroxyn | Inhibitory |
| Zilactin Cold Sore Gel and Liquid | Numbing agent |
Similarly, here are cold sore treatment prescription drugs that are generally prescribed by health professionals:
- Famvir (famciclovir)
- Valtrex (valacyclovir)
- Acyclovir (Zovirax)
Though they can not completely eradicate the herpes virus, these three drugs can stop HSV-1 from replicating. In addition, these particular medicine for cold sores only work while you take them, such that they cannot prevent possible cold sore outbreaks once the intake of the drugs is stopped.