How to get rid of sore on lip

The site is intended for Canadian Residents only. Haleon group of companies Consumer Healthcare ULC, Mississauga, Ontario, L5N 6L4. Trademarks owned or licensed by Haleon. ©2020-2022 Haleon or licensor.
Always read and follow the label. *In clinical trials, the time to complete healing was statistically significantly shorter in the Abreva group (4.1 days) than the placebo group (4.8 days).

If your medicine cabinet isn't stocked with an antiviral medication, use these overnight cold sore remedies until you can see a doctor or visit a pharmacy.

• Apply a cold compress. Try holding a cool, damp cloth against your cold sore. This can make your sore less red and crusty and help it heal more quickly than if you let it alone. If you can feel the cold sore coming, but it hasn't appeared yet, hold a piece of ice to the area. This method may keep a full-blown cold sore from developing or may make it go away more quickly.
• Keep the area moisturized. Use a lip balm or moisturizer to keep your lip and mouth area hydrated and prevent the sore from drying out and peeling. It's also important to keep this area protected from the sun, so look for a lip balm with 30 or higher SPF.
• Don't touch the cold sore. Although it's tempting to pick at the sore or scrape the peeling skin, keep your hands off and let it heal itself. Plus, the sore is contagious, so if you touch your lips, make sure to wash your hands afterward to prevent spreading the virus to other people or other areas of your body.

Help Prevent Future Cold Sores

Though the virus that causes cold sores does not have a cure, there are measures you can take to prevent outbreaks. These preventive measures include:

• Understanding your cold sore triggers. Figuring out what sets off your cold sore outbreak can help you keep them away in the long term. Some common cold sore triggers include anxiety, sunburn, exhaustion, hormonal changes, the common cold, or minor scratches or injuries to the lip. You may need to avoid excess sun exposure, find ways to reduce anxiety levels, or take other actions to prevent future outbreaks.
• Replacing contaminated items. After you go through the healing process and get rid of your cold, make sure to replace your toothbrush, lip balm, and any other items that made contact with your cold sore and are not easily washed and disinfected. The virus that caused your cold sore can live on these items for days and cause your lips to become reinfected.
• Talking to your doctor or dentist. If you suffer from cold sores often, your doctor or dentist may recommend taking an antiviral medication regularly to help prevent outbreaks. They can also help you identify possible triggers and recommend lifestyle changes to decrease your chances of getting cold sores.

Cold sores can be annoying, painful, and inconvenient. When you have an important event on your calendar, use these tips to get rid of a cold sore fast, prevent future outbreaks, and restore your lovely smile.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

More than half of people in the U.S. have been infected with the virus that causes cold sores. Between 20 and 40% of them will experience the joy that is a cold sore.

If you’re one of them, odds are you know this pattern: A tingling or burning sensation on your lip. A day later, an oozy, fluid-filled blister on your mouth, always at the most inopportune time.

Family medicine physician Sarah Pickering Beers, MD, shares her advice for dealing with this sore spot.

Cold sores: common and contagious

Cold sores are common and mostly harmless. They’re caused by the herpes simplex virus, which spreads easily from person to person.

Advertising Policy

In some lucky people, the virus might cause a cold sore once or twice and never rear its head again. But for other people, they come back again and again, sometimes several times a year. And that gets old real fast. 

“They tend to go away on their own in 10 to 14 days,” says Dr. Beers. “But that doesn’t make them any less annoying.”

Cold sore remedies

Two weeks might as well be an eternity when you have an oozy, scabby sore smack dab in the middle of your face. Here’s what you can do to ease the discomfort and send that cold on its way.

• Oral antiviral medications: “The most efficient way to get rid of cold sores is with oral antiviral medications,” Dr. Beers says. A doctor can prescribe these medications, which reduce pain and help the sore clear faster. But you have to start taking them within the first day or so that the cold sore develops, or they don’t do much to help, Dr. Beers says. If you’re one of the unlucky people who tends to get cold sore after cold sore, your doctor might be able to prescribe a daily antiviral to keep them at bay, Dr. Beers adds. 
• Antiviral cream: If you can’t make it to a doctor for a prescription, over-the-counter antiviral creams can help knock back a cold sore. “These are slightly less effective than oral antivirals, but they do reduce the pain and duration of the sore,” Dr. Beers says. But like oral medications, you have to start using the cream ASAP for it to work.

How to treat cold sore pain

DIY remedies aren’t likely to make a cold sore disappear any faster. But there are things you can do to ease the pain while you’re waiting impatiently for it to heal.

Advertising Policy

1. Numb the pain: Over-the-counter pain reliever creams such as lidocaine and benzocaine can numb the burning and ease the discomfort. These are often marketed for dental pain, so look for them in the dental section of the drug store.
2. Moisturize: Keep your lip and mouth area moisturized to prevent the sore from drying out and peeling, Dr. Beers says. But if you use lip balm on an active sore, consider it contaminated. “Once you’ve used it on a cold sore, you should throw it away after the sore is better,” Dr. Beers says.
3. Cool it: Using a simple cold compress, like ice or a cold, wet rag, can help reduce pain and redness.
4. Hands off: It can take all your self-control not to play with a cold sore, but try to resist the temptation. “It’s instinct to pick at it and scrape the peeling skin, but you should let it heal itself,” Dr. Beers says.

Meanwhile, you don’t want to inflict these sores on others. Skip the make-out sessions until you’ve healed and wash your hands often.

While cold sores are annoying in adults, the virus can be life-threatening in a baby, so take care to steer clear, Dr. Beers advises: “As much as you might want to see your niece or nephew or grandbaby, please don’t shower them with kisses if you have an active cold sore.”

What causes a sore on your lip?

Do lip sores go away?

What is the best treatment for lip sores?

Does Vaseline help lip sores?