Cold sore

Triggers

• Being run-down
• Dehydration
• Stress

Typically a combination of the above.

Presentation

• Often a dry lip precedes the cold sore itself
• Occasionally the cold sore can present inside the mouth where it looks like a cluster of plaques (and is thankfully not visible to the outside world)

Folk remedy

This remedy can skip the disgusting phase of an external cold sore when the blisters pop.

• As soon as the blisters start to appear, apply a layer of plain white toothpaste
  • It's normal and expected for the toothpaste to dry out after a few hours
  • At times when it's inconvenient to have this it can be washed off and re-applied later
• This seems to suck out moisture so that over a couple of days the surface of the cold sore becomes hard like a scab
  • Also there is a pleasant cooling effect that helps to overcome the initial annoying feeling
  • Once the surface is hard no more toothpaste is required
• Now instead of popping, the whole thing will eventually become loose and fall off like a regular scab
  • The wound is not yet fully healed but it should dry out very soon