- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
2nd Trimester
lh193
member
Cold Sore help!
lh193
member
So last week I was diagnosed with GD, a few days later I got my first cold sore. I'm sure the stress caused the breakout. I didn?t know what it was, I thought it was a small pimple, but then my lip swelled enormously and was feeling all numb, so I went to the urgent care clinic where the doctor diagnosed it as a cold sore. I hear the first cold sore is the worst.
The doctor was pretty cold and discouraging. She said it was too late for Abreva since you need to use that before the cold sore erupts. She offered to write me a script for an antiviral, but cautioned it was not tested in pregnant women and very expensive. So of course I turned it down. She gave me an antibacterial to prevent a secondary infection, but the directions say not to use it on your lips. WTF?!?
So, the sore has pretty much scabbed over and is healing, but I keep feeling tingles next to the sore. Is this a sign of more sores to come, or is this normal? I?m so stressed out about the possibility of getting more cold sores that I'm really paranoid. I did end up buying the abreva just in case and am using them. I obviously touched the sore before I knew what it was and likely touched lots of other stuff. The scabs are so itchy, it's really hard not to touch.
Since my diagnosis, I stopped using lipsticks or chapsticks (since I was worried about contamination and re-infection) but now my lips are super dry and peeling. Is there any way to disinfect your lipstick/chapstick so you can keep using them? The sore is really hideous, so I'd like to cover it up with makeup if possible. What about toothbrushes? I'm sure mine is probably contaminated. Can you disinfect this, or should you be using a new one every day?
The internet is full of information about how to prevent/heal sores, but a lot of them sound non-pregnancy safe. I did notice that a lot of stuff I've started eating since I'm on the GD diet is bad for cold sores (like nuts, jello, etc).
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Cold Sore help!
neosporin lip therapy ASAP, those OTC abreva and other cold sore creams are crapola. Whatever you do, don't pick it or squeeze it. From here on out, you should use soothing chapstick like aveeno everyday. Also, when gone change your tooth brush and everything. Oh, and don't eat acidic food.
Also, it is technically herpes, that can cross over to the lower regions, so no oral on the DH and when you have a baby be careful when you have a cold sore not to share cups or towels or anything. Something like 9 out of 10 people have the cold sore virus, they just don't all exhibit symptoms, so it usually is just a matter of time till you get the virus.
Try not to stress too much. Stress and excitement can bring them on for me. I have not found any meds that prevent or even help once i get one. I usually just have to suffer through it.
Actually I had never heard of antiviral meds. If you could all give us some more info about that I would appreciate it too. Thanks
It helps to stop the spread into other cells and creating other cold sores Also helps with the pain and helps to dry it out faster Hope that helps
I developed cold sores at around the age of 5. My outbreaks were always horrible. I was put on Valtrex for them in my teenage years. As I've gotten older the breakouts are much less severe. They are brought on by sunburns and stress. As you described they are very painful and itchy. I use to have the same problems with my lips drying out. It was the only way they would dry out and finally heal. But sometime the scab would stay for weeks. Normally if you feel itching around the same area another one is going to emerge soon afterwards. It sucks.
While dating someone in my early 20's I shared that I had often gotten cold sore outbreaks. He recommended taking Lysine (an amino acid supplement) because his mother had been advised by her doctor too. I was skeptical because I had had cold sores for ever and the only thing that worked was the once a day Valtrax. I was a broke college student and couldn't always afford the perscription. I went ahead and took his advice and WOW did it work. It worked better than the Valtrax. My cold sore would clear up in 2-4 days. Remember I was use to having severe outbreaks for weeks at a time.
Talk to your doctor about it. Many Ob's will give you the go ahead. Its safer than most other alternatives. And after pregnancy its great. I don't suffer from humiliating outbreaks anymore and my healing time is faster. Plus once the infected site dries out its safe to use the lip balm again. Hope this helps!
i have cold sores, and it can transmit to the nether regions, so be careful...when it is open and oozy, you can take an alkaseltzer tab and crush it and make a paste out of it and water and put some on there- it will burn like crazy but it also dries it out fast! you will continue to get them- its a virus, and you cant get rid of a virus, it just receedes for a while...the chicken pox is herpes, so it probably came from that...
i wouldnt put make up on it though- it looks worse than just letting it be...
There is this stuff you can order on the internet called Choraphor. I'm not sure if you can use it during pregnancy, but it's an herbal topical solution. Follow the directions and basically it INSTANTLY dries out the cold sore and burns like heck, but it makes them a LOT less noticable and they go away WAY faster. Also, the sores supposedly come less and less. While that may not be true for all, it's seemed to work for me. The bottle is kind of expensive, but it lasts FOREVER.
as far as using lipbalm, just use a q-tip so you don't contaminate your lip balm and avoid the cold sore.