lovable_loser's Full Review: Abreva Cold Sore/Fever Blister Treatment .07oz
"Oh no. My lip is tingling!"
(runs to bathroom, looks into mirror)
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
(masses of frightened birds flee from surrounding trees)
That's pretty much the scenario when it comes to discovering I have a cold sore developing. Cold sores, while not really a danger to your health, can be quite devastating to a person's social life. These oral infections are caused by the virus Herpes labialis, and take place on areas on or around the mouth and nose.
The sores are pretty gruesome sights, and depending on the person, can be triggered by a number of things. Personally, changing climate triggers my outbreaks. The right half of my bottom lip swells and contains dark spots under the skin. The sore then develops on my bottom lip, then infects the right half of my upper lip! It's painful and extremely annoying when the sores become oozing ulcers before crusting over with a hideous yellow-brown scab. I get one cold sore a year and the sore usually resides on my lips for about ten long days, but one year a sore lasted for fifteen days! With my cold sores having the potential to last almost half a month, I needed some help other than the less than effective Camphophenique I usually use.
This year (2004) in early March, I felt a cold sore coming on thanks to the wishy washy temperature changes that included a beautiful 68 degree Saturday morph into a 41 degree Sunday. I headed to the grocery store immediately. At the store, I noticed that Abreva had a security device attached to the packaging! When I saw the price, I knew why. I got home and then discovered that I paid $15.99 for two grams of Abreva in a tube no bigger than half a AA size battery. I questioned my investment but I figured, "Hey it MUST be good!" Application must be done five times a day, and Abreva works best when applied during the first signs of a cold sore outbreak (which was when I applied it). Application of the Abreva cream (which contains the active ingredient docosonal) can be done with your fingers. But it is encouraged that you wash your hands before and after application. You don't want to introduce your cold sore to foreign particles or germs, and you don't want to place pontentially infectious elements of the cold on your fingers and transfer them to other people OR other parts of your body. Herpes labialis can infect your genitals, so if you apply Abreva directly to your cold sore, it'd be wise you wash your hands before touching... down there. It's bad enough to have a wicked sore on your lips, but having one on your 'recreational' parts is not recommended by any stretch of the human imagination.
It must be known that Abreva accelerates the healing time of a cold sore. And it did just that. The swelling that usually accompanies my sores was eliminated within ten hours of my first application AND the second cold sore that has a tendency to develop on my upper lip did not even appear! Furthermore, Abreva goes on with no chemical odors, and it dries clear. If you've got Abreva on your lips, nobody will know but you. It also helps ease the pain of the infection within a short time. I also found Chapstick to be helpful when used with Abreva. It adds more moisture to the area as the docosonal does its job, and prevents any further cracking of the skin.
Rather than 10+ days of carrying around a social nightmare, I bid a farewell to my cold sore in a little over 5 days with Abreva. And you know what? I only used barely over half of the tube!
It's perfectly normal to question the price of Abreva, especially when you only get a two gram, tiny tube of the stuff. I've never paid $16.00 for anything that minute (pronounced MY-Nute, which means small) However, the results are worth it. My cold sore was significantly reduced in strength and its duration was cut in half, PLUS I had a considerable amount of Abreva leftover.
Abreva is a must-have for people that develop wretched cold sores and wish to speed up the healing process on the double.
Docosanol 10% cream. Cold sore treatment. Portable and convenient pump. Only FDA approved medicine to shorten healing time - Only non-prescription col...More at Walgreens
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