Anyone who has suffered from a cold sore will tell you they are grim, painful, near impossible to get rid of and feel like a big, red, house-alarm alerting everyone to your herpes ridden face. Unfortunately I’m not here to tell you the secret to getting rid of them (if you’re a scientist looking for a project, here’s an idea) but what I can tell you is about everything that I’ve tried and how helpful each has been, or not.

I started getting cold sores when I was 18. I went to the chemist, bought cold sore cream, and hoped for the best. No luck. These topically applied, over-the-counter creams haven’t worked for anyone I know.

Fast-forward a year, to the next winter and my new “yearly friend”. I tried a little circular patch. Placed right on top of the cold sore it soothed the pain, and disguised the little monster for nearly 12 hours. But you also have a sticker on your face in college. So there’s that.

Sticker face

A few more years went by and I could no longer live my life as sticker face. I was getting desperate. I tried ice (slobbery), witch hazel (painful) and vanilla (tasty but no dice). I tried hydrogen peroxide, which turned my lips white; and then milk, which surprising helped with the pain, but didn’t get rid of the cold sore.

I started regularly taking L-Lysine each winter and that helped reduce the size of the mouth goblins, but didn’t stop them.

This year it’s been different. A combination of voodoo and plain old sense seems to be helping. When I feel a tingle I drink gallons of water, apply tea tree oil, take lots of vitamins, sleep with a chicken feather under my pillow and get my repeat prescription for cold sore tablets.

None of these work on their own, but together, so far, they seem to do the trick. Go forth and (do not) blister. (I’m joking about the feather, mostly).