How to cure a cold on the lips

Colds on the lips are not only a cosmetic defect, but also a serious disease caused by herpes viruses. In the absence of proper treatment, relapses of the pathology will occur more often, and the severity of their symptoms will gradually increase. A therapist or otolaryngologist will tell you how to treat colds on the lips effectively and quickly.

If necessary, an immunologist is involved in the therapy, who will prescribe drugs to increase the body's resistance to the causative agents of herpetic disease. The treatment regimen for colds on the lips includes antiviral agents for internal and external use, antiseptic solutions, immunomodulators and immunostimulants.

Basic principles of treatment

If the patient’s immunity is strong, then his body will cope with herpes viruses on its own. But a correct and timely approach to therapy will help to significantly speed up recovery and avoid the development of complications. The most dangerous of them is the chronicity of the pathology, when exacerbations occur almost every month. The main principle of treatment is to suppress the inflammatory process at the initial stage, before bubbles with liquid contents have formed on the lips. Compliance with the following recommendations given by your doctor will help prevent their occurrence:

• proper nutrition. Herpes viruses multiply more actively when a person consumes foods high in salt, sugar, and fat. But including fresh vegetables and fruits in the daily menu prevents the spread of pathogenic infectious agents;
• drinking regime. Drinking 2-2.5 liters of clean water helps remove viruses and their metabolic products from inflammatory foci, and then from the body. As an abundant drink, you can use lightly salted mineral water (Nagutskaya, Narzan, Slavyanovskaya), rosehip decoction, chamomile and green tea, fruit drinks and compotes from sour fruits and berries;
• rejection of bad habits. Toxic compounds that make up tobacco and ethyl alcohol, when they come into contact with herpes-affected tissues, provoke increased pain, swelling, and contribute to the spread of infection to healthy tissue areas;
• prevention of infection. When treating a cold at home, separate dishes and hygiene products should be provided to the sick person. It is advisable to replace the towel with a clean one every day, and to care for your lips, purchase wet wipes soaked in antiseptic solutions.

Many girls and women try to disguise ugly blisters with a thick layer of lipstick. Experts note that herpes viruses die much faster on dry skin, but a moist environment is a favorable environment for their active growth and reproduction. But the greatest danger is piercing or cauterizing the resulting blisters. Liquid contents flow out of them, which contain a huge amount of herpes viruses. Getting on healthy areas of the lips or the mucous membrane of the mouth, they form new infectious foci.

Pharmacological drugs

It is quite possible to cure a cold on the lip in just 1 day if the blisters have not yet formed.

Even at the initial stage of the pathological process, the clinical manifestations of activation of herpes viruses are quite pronounced. In the affected area of ​​the lip, burning, itching and slight soreness occur. Visually, a cold is expressed in slight swelling, redness, and swelling. If this condition occurs no more than twice a year, then it is advisable to use only pharmaceutical products for external use for treatment. And with frequent exacerbations, a course of antiviral drugs will be required to correct immunity.

Acyclovir tablets, which suppress the growth and reproduction of herpes viruses, will help treat severe colds on the lips.

Antiviral ointments, gels and tablets

Drugs capable of destroying herpes viruses have not yet been synthesized. To treat colds in which blisters have formed on almost the entire surface of the lips, oral tablets are used. If one or two blisters have formed, then only ointments, gels, and balms are used for external application 4-5 times a day. Daily and single dosages of tablets and dragees are determined only by the attending physician. It takes into account the results of laboratory tests, the general condition of the patient and the presence of concomitant pathologies.

Colds on the lips during lactation or pregnancy can be treated with external antiviral agents and only under the supervision of a doctor. As a rule, dosages for women during pregnancy are reduced, as is the frequency of applying ointments to the lip area. What an otolaryngologist or therapist can prescribe to deactivate herpes viruses:

• Provirsan, Zovirax, Acyclostad, Viralex, Herperax. The active ingredient of these drugs for external and internal use is acyclovir. Upon contact with the virus, the compound breaks the DNA chain, making it impossible to replicate. Pathogenic pathogens lose their ability to grow and reproduce. With frequent use of products containing acyclovir, their therapeutic activity gradually decreases;
• Valtrex, Virdel, Valcicon. The active ingredient in oral medications is valacyclovir, a precursor to acyclovir. That is, after penetration into the stomach, the active ingredient disintegrates with the release of acyclovir. The therapeutic course of drugs with valacyclovir varies depending on the degree of herpetic lesions of the skin of the lips;
• Vectavir, Pentsivir, Fenistil. Medicines containing penciclovir only affect viruses and do not affect the cells of the human body. As the active ingredient accumulates, the synthesis of viral DNA in infected tissues slows down. A day after starting to take pills or use ointments, the severity of swelling and pain decreases;
• Famvir, Minaker. Drugs containing famciclovir are prodrugs, as they break down in the gastrointestinal tract to penciclovir. The duration of treatment is about 5 days. Products for internal use have a wide range of contraindications, so they are used only as prescribed by a doctor after a series of diagnostic studies;
• Amiksin, Lavomax. The drugs exhibit both antiviral and immunomodulatory activity due to the active substance tilorone included in their composition. Oral preparations stimulate the production of interferons, protecting cells from the penetration of herpes and influenza viruses, preventing their spread to healthy areas.

The newly synthesized external remedy Erazaban helps to quickly cure colds on the lips in its initial stage. Applying the drug to infected areas 3-5 times a day prevents the formation of blisters, eliminates swelling, itching and burning.

Colds on the lips should be treated with antiviral ointments immediately after the first symptoms appear.

Aids

Ointments with antibacterial activity are often used to treat colds on the lips. Bursting blisters attract pathogenic bacteria, forming inflammatory lesions in the center or corners of the lips. To destroy pathogenic microorganisms, you can use one of the following external agents:

• Tetracycline ointment;
• Levosin;
• Levomekol.

Since the ability of viruses to actively reproduce occurs in a humid environment, doctors prescribe ointments with a drying effect - Salicylic or Zinc. They should be applied to inflamed areas 2-3 times a day for 5-6 days, alternating with antiviral external drugs. Oils from medicinal plants slow down the progression of pathology and reduce the severity of symptoms:

• rosehip;
• chamomile;
• sea ​​buckthorn;
• peach;
• sea ​​buckthorn

They not only stop the inflammatory process, but also promote rapid healing of damaged tissue. Preparations with the active component dexpanthenol also have a regenerating effect:

• Bepanten;
• Depanthenol;
• Dexpanthenol.

Such products are available in the form of sprays, gels, creams and ointments. After application to infected areas, metabolic processes are accelerated, scarring and epithelization of the lesions occur. Preparations with dexpanthenol also have an antiseptic effect, preventing viruses and bacteria from infecting nearby tissues. Similar activity is characteristic of disinfectant solutions:

• Miramistin;
• Chlorhexidine.

Quick treatment of colds on the lips with antiseptic agents occurs when they are used at the initial stage. Solutions with a high concentration of ethyl alcohol - iodine, brilliant green - should not be used to sanitize inflammatory foci. They excessively dry out the delicate skin of the lips, and in some cases cause severe burns.

To treat colds on the lips, solutions with an antiseptic effect are used to treat the affected areas of the skin.

In people with weak immunity, herpes viruses can provoke symptoms of general intoxication of the body after penetration of their waste products into the systemic bloodstream. For hyperthermia and headaches, doctors prescribe anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs in tablets or syrups:

• Nise,
• Ibufen,
• Ibuklin,
• Nimesulide,
• Ibuprofen.

In the presence of gastrointestinal pathologies, such drugs are not prescribed. NSAIDs can be replaced with paracetamol - Efferalgan or Panadol in tablets, syrups or suppositories for rectal administration.

If a cold on your lip comes out quickly, and there are no antiviral, antibacterial, drying ointments in the house, then the popular Golden Star balm will come to the rescue. It contains a large number of essential oils that have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects. You need to apply a small amount of aromatic product, without rubbing, to the swollen area of ​​the lip. The slight burning sensation that occurs soon disappears. Doctor Mom ointment, which contains many biologically active ingredients, has similar properties:

• levomenthol;
• camphor;
• eucalyptus, nutmeg oils;
• gum turpentine.

All of the above components are able to quickly and effectively treat formed inflammatory foci. Golden Star balm and Doctor Mom ointment should not be used by pregnant women and people who are sensitive to the ingredients of external preparations due to the high risk of developing allergic reactions.

When treating colds on the lips, decoctions and infusions of medicinal plants are used to speed up recovery.

Folk remedies

Before starting to treat a cold on the lip, doctors prescribe a series of laboratory tests for patients to determine the type of infectious pathogen. In the vast majority of cases, a herpes virus is detected, which folk remedies cannot eliminate. But they can reduce the severity of symptoms of colds on the lips, improve a person’s well-being and speed up recovery. Healers, as well as specialists in official medicine, recommend that patients drink plenty of fluids to remove toxic compounds and infectious agents from the body.

Decoctions and infusions of herbs that have antiseptic and diuretic effects are used as a generous drink. How to prepare medicinal infusions:

• Place a teaspoon of dry lingonberry leaves and St. John's wort into a clay or ceramic container. Brew 2 cups of boiling water and leave for 30 minutes. Filter and drink a glass of hot healing tea in small sips 2-3 times a day;
• Add a teaspoon of large-leaf green tea and sage into the teapot. Pour in 2 glasses of hot (temperature 85-90°C) water and keep covered for 10-15 minutes. Take a glass of infusion after each meal 3-4 times during the day;
• put a few sprigs of fresh lemon balm or a tablespoon of dry herbs in a small saucepan, add 2 tbsp. spoons of hibiscus. Simmer in a water bath for half an hour, strain and drink half a glass of coffee or black tea 3-4 times a day.

Such folk remedies can be used not only for drinking, but also for medicinal lotions. You should soak a cotton pad in the cooled infusion and regularly wipe the inflamed areas of your lips. As an addition to the main treatment, calendula ointment is used. To prepare it, you need to grind 5 fresh plants into a thick paste using a mortar and pestle and mix with 100 g of baby fat cream. Apply the product to your lips several times a day. Thanks to its regenerating and anti-inflammatory effect, calendula ointment promotes rapid tissue healing.

It is possible to treat colds on the lips quickly and effectively only under the supervision of a specialist. If the body's resistance to herpes viruses is low, unwanted complications may occur. The doctor will recommend immunomodulators and immunostimulants, a course of which will help avoid frequent relapses of infectious pathology.