Community Magazine September 2012

Cold sores around the lips – also called fever blisters – are painful and unsightly. If you suffer from cold sores, you’re not alone – roughly40percent of thepopulation experiences recurrent cold sores. Cold sores are actually a herpes simplex virus infection (usually HSV-1, or oral herpes) on the lips, a virus that is highly contagious when active, and which never really goes away. After the sores heal, the virus slips into nerve cells in the skin and lies dormant until something weakens the immune defenses and awakens the virus. The most common triggers are fever – hence the name “fever blisters” – and exposure to sunlight. Other triggers include dental work and cosmetic procedures to the face, other illnesses, and emotional stress. Since cold soles can be highly contagious, they can easily be transmitted to other places on the body or to another person. This occurs through contact with any part of the body where the virus finds a way to penetrate the skin. Thus, for example, a person experiencing a cold sore must avoid kissing the kids or sharing a cup. Furthermore, if you touch a fever blister and then touch your eye or your nose, you could infect those areas and get repeated infections in the future. Men with cold sores must be very careful while shaving, as the virus can be transmitted from a nicked sore to the shaver and infect another part of the face through a cut. Sharing shavers, which could spread the virus to others, is also not a good idea. Women with cold sores must be careful when using lipstick or Chapstick, which could spread the virus from one side of the lip to the other. How much do you want to pay for relief? As a dentist, I was given a trial of a topical medicine called Viroxyn to treat cold sores. It worked well on my own sores and only had to be applied once. Viroxyn is available online, but is a bit pricey, costing nearly $40 for three treatments. When I looked at the ingredients, I noticed that Viroxyn contains only one active ingredient – Benzalkonium Chloride 0.13%, an antiseptic found in many different wipes, swabs, etc. It’s generic and available without a prescription. You can buy an ounce of this antiseptic cleanser at Walgreens for a fraction of the price, just without a fancy applicator. They call it “Walgreens Cure Chrome First Aid Antiseptic.” You can apply it as indicated – massaging the cleaner deep into the cold sore area with a couple of Q-Tips (it’s important to massage the substance, and not just apply it). Be careful not to dip the Q-Tip back into the bottle after applying it to the sore; use a new one. You’ll probably need about 3 Q-Tips (using one end of each) to get enough medicine on the sore. The goal is to work about 0.5 to 1.0 ml of the cleaner into the sore and surrounding area. Alternatively, you can use the antiseptic wipes. They come individually wrapped, and one wipe will do the trick. I usually keep Benzalkonium wipes available in case a friend or family member starts to get the familiar “tingle” associated with an oncoming fever sore. According to the FDA, the quality and effectiveness of the generic Benzalkonium Chloride is exactly the same as the brand name Viroxyn. So instead of spending $13 an application for Viroxyn, you can save a bundle by buying a box of wipes or a bottle of the generic equivalent for $3, or about a nickel per application. Benzalkonium Chloride can give you fast relief from the pain, itching and burning associated with cold sores. For most people, it eliminates the pain within minutes of application, and the unsightly sore is healed in just 2-3 days, as opposed to waiting the 7-10 days it would otherwise take for it to go away. So before you suffer the pain and embarrassment of your next cold sore, be prepared by getting a hold of Benzalkonium Chloride, so you can get rid of it just as quickly as it came. An Affordable Alternative for Cold Sore Relief? JACQUES DOUECK, DDS 96 Community magazine