Do You Suffer from Cold Sores? There’s Hope

This is what the Mayo Clinic website says about cold sores: “The scenario is all too familiar: You feel a tingling on your lip and a small, hard spot that you can't yet see. Sure enough, in a day or two, red blisters appear on your lip. It's another cold sore, probably happening at a bad time, and there's no way to hide it or make it go away quickly.” If you’re a victim, here’s good news. The FDA has approved a treatment that consists of a steroid (as an anti-inflammatory) and an antiviral substance (acyclovir, or Zovirax®). It’s called Lipsovir®, and is made by a Swedish company, Medivir.

In a clinical study used to register the product, 42% of patients using the cream form occurrence of the first symptom didn’t develop full cold sores, with blisters, ulcers, and/or crusting; only 26% of those using a placebo cream achieved this result.

If application was delayed until cold sores had developed, the healing time was significantly shortened, by 1½ days, compared with those using placebo cream. These results are a considerable improvement over previous attempts at preventing or treating cold sores – I speak from personal experience.