Dear Friends,
Have you ever had an unsightly protrusion on your lip, something so large and hideous, rather like an infected pepperoni falling off your face, that you have seriously considered converting to Islam just so you can wear the burkha? I know this pain full well. Mind you I never did until I got married and my very cold sore prone husband transferred the virus to me and never had another for 10 years! I took up the herpes torch and baby, I got burned.
Now, I was no stranger to canker sores, which as they so openly state are sore, but they are hidden. It is one thing to need to lay off the chow because you can’t chew and it is another thing entirely to cause others to lose their appetites as the very sight of you immediately induces stomach pain.
For the longest time I swore by L-lysine, an amino acid in capsule, not tablet form. At the first awareness of your lip (If you suffer you know what I mean.) if you take several capsules you can sometimes avoid the cold sore. If you take one capsule several times a week you can avoid them all together. I don’t always remember to take them preventatively and there have been occasions where the cold sore still blooms despite my slamming capsule after capsule. Yesterday this was the scenario. I probably needed to take one an hour but after a couple doses I forgot and took a nap. I awoke in two zip codes. Terrible. I knew I needed to get the big guns.
Last month I felt one coming on and immediately hit the L-lysine. My friend Margaret was here and felt the beginnings of one too. She applied Abreva. Mine got a little red but hers didn’t form at all. This is a woman who is so frugal she buys clothing by the pound at thrift stores and looks very schnazzy, I will add. “You pay a ton, but it’s worth it.”
I remembered this as I read, “$13.68” on a teeny tiny box at Meijer and screwed my courage to the sticking point. Paul (just like Macbeth) chickened out and started fondling a box that was half the price. This man can be surprisingly miserly. You would think, having giving me this terrible plague, he would be hanging his head and saying sweetly, “Yes Pretty, anything to ease your suffering, Pretty. May I rub your feet?” He continued to read aloud the merits of the cheaper brand. I just grabbed the Abreva and headed for the register. As those of us in the know, know seconds count.
My physical pain was alleviated immediately. My psychic pain took about an hour. Because it had gotten so bad it hasn’t been the absolute miracle it might have, but I am very pleased.
I will strive to take the L-lysine regularly but it is a comfort to know I now have two swords in the arsenal.
I just hope this helps someone else.
For those in the audience as yet unmarried, cold sore prone-edness is something to run from like the plague it is.
(Don’t tell Paul.)
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Alison,
I don’t know where I got the lip herp, but once a year or so I get a cold sore, usually after my lips are very chapped.
And Abreva, which I just tried (and the tube it so tiny for the price: it’s like an illicit drug) worked very well. My sore didn’t really get off the ground and I bet one little Abreva tube will work for four or five of them.
Best of luck.
t
I also am plagued by the cold sores. My doctor called mine impetigo when I was in the 5th grade, and they always show up in the same place when I’m stressed or sunburned on my face. They’re just a delight. I’ve faithfully used Neosporin ointment to stave off the worst of it, and that works pretty well. I’ve been meaning to get some Abreva. If yours is like a piece of pepperoni, mine has become personified and referred to by my merciless coworkers as “my little friend.” I love them all so… 😉
Andy is plagued with them as well–they are usually my first clue that his stress level is rising again.
He once had one so big as a child that it spread from the tip of his nose down under his chin, locking his mouth shut in the middle, save for one tiny spot where he could slip a straw through to receive a little liquid nutrition. He hasn’t yet tried Abreva. I’ll be sure to have some on hand for him for next time.
Oddly, I have never had one, even after being married to this man for so long now. I used to be terrified that he’d pass them to me and refuse to kiss him if he was anywhere close to getting one or still had any remaining sign of getting over one. After thirteen years, though, I’ve gotten a little lax. It drives him crazy that I can be so careless and still not suffer.
Who knew there were so many sufferers in the crowd.
Sherry,
You are a lucky lady. Buy your poor husband some L-lysine and have him take several capsules a week.
Karen,
Paul is actually the one who used the term pepperoni. Terrible isn’t it. Get yourself some Abreva.
Troy,
Welcome to my blog. I have followed you and prayed for you off and on for some months. I am so glad you stopped by. I always hesitate when commenting with strangers, concerned that encouragement will sound like judgment. I am glad you heard my voice.