My Cold Sore Won't Go Away

Cold sores are red bumps that appear on the lips. They can be painful, as well as extremely noticeable and unsightly. Cold sores are the result of your body coming into contact with herpes simplex virus. While the virus will never completely go away, the cold sore will—and there are methods to speed up the healing so it will go away quickly.

Things You'll Need

• Warm water
• Soap
• Soft cloth
• Petroleum jelly product
• Benzyl alcohol
• Cotton swab

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Instructions

• 1

  Pour a tiny amount of soap onto a soft cloth.

• 2

  Dampen the cloth with water, and then gently wash the cold sore with the soap and water. Do not scrub too hard.

• 3

  Rinse your lips off with water.

• 4

  Dip a cotton swab into benzyl alcohol.

• 5

  Rub the alcohol onto the cold sore.

• 6

  Apply a petroleum jelly product to the cold sore, like Vaseline or Neosporin. This keeps bacteria from getting to the cold sore.

• 7

  Perform the entire process twice a day.