How to Prevent Cold Sores with Zovirax
Prevention is always better than cure, and if you can prevent cold sores from breaking out, your life will be much easier and more comfortable.
Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus 1, and once you become infected for the first time, you do tend to see recurring outbreaks.
A lot of people say this is for the rest of your life, but that's not true.
I used to get a lot of cold sores as a teenager, less as a young adult, and now that I am getting on, i can't for the life of me remember that last time I suffered from one.
But if you wish to learn how to prevent cold sores from coming out into those red, angry, painful blisters that make you look and feel miserable, then read on.
I strongly recommend that you keep a tube of Zovirax in the house. It will keep perfectly well for long periods of time if kept cool, perhaps in the 
Zovirax was a bit of a medical miracle when it was first developed in the 1970s in that it was the first truly effective treatment for cold sores.
At the very first sign of a cold sore break-out, when you feel that familiar tickle in the corner of your mouth, apply Zovirax, and keep reapplying at intervals all day, and perhaps the next day too.
This actually prevents cold sores from breaking out, if treatment is started early enough.
You only need apply a tiny amount each time. the active ingredient in Zovirax is acyclovir, which is a very effective anti-viral drug.
Cold sores will just settle down and go back into their burrow or where ever they live in your body.
This really is the only effective preventative treatmentfor cold sores, and it works every time.
They key to successfully preventing a cold sore outbreak is to treat it very early.
If you wait until day 2, it is too late.
So as you are going to bed at night, you feel that familiar tingling irritation and do not have Zovirax to hand, by the next day when the pharmacies are open, it will be too late.
Then, no matter if you apply this cream or not, the cold sore will continue to develop.
Although you may find some relief while using the cream, it will not prevent it from continuing on its natural course.
It is vitally important to begin treatment early in order to prevent cold sores from developing, and it can be done.
Other similar creams have been developed in the years since Zovirax first hit the market. It was always very expensive, and the tube was, and still is, tiny!
However, the price you pay to keep a cold sore away is well worth it.
I am in no doubt that others just as good as Zovirex are available, but I would stick to the tried and tested version which works.
Cold sores are miserable.
They appear on the outside of your mouth, usually at the corner of your lips, but sometimes on the lips themselves or even above the lips nearer to your nostrils.
They start off as an irritation, not much more than a slight tickle, but quickly develop into an angry, painful, itchy red area on which tiny little water blisters develop.
Then the blisters burst and scab over. At this point the itch lessens, but your face looks awful with the area around the cold sore all crusted over.
Can cold sores be avoided?
If you have never suffered from a cold sore, than I would have to say, probably.
Notice I didn't say yes, but paying close attention to hygiene should help you avoid the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1)
- Never kiss anyone with a cold sore on their face.
- Never drink from the same cup or glass as someone with a cold sore, without thoroughly washing it first.
- Never dry your face on the same towel which someone with a cold sore has used, without washing it first.
- Don't allow anyone with a cold sore to touch you in any way. Their hands may contain the live virus and an open wound or scratch on your skin in as access route.
That said, the herpes simplex virus is so widespread, you will likely come across it at some time in your life, and then you just learn to live with it.
Most herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) are contracted during childhood, but don't actually start erupting into full blown cold sores until puberty.
A person with the virus is onlyinfectiouswhen they have an active cold sore.
While it is almost impossible to prevent infection with the herpes simplex virus, it is relatively easy to prevent cold sores from developing, with the early and timely use of Zovirax.
Note: this article only relates to cold sores of the lips and face. If you have any other kind of herpes simplex virus, please see your medical practitioner for advice.
Zovirax cream is also available on prescription.
