How to Get Rid of Fever Blisters

The fever blisters are typically formed around in and around mouth, nose and chin. There is a lot of burning, itching and swelling. During the course of time, blisters increase in size. Sometimes they burst out and form crust and become dry. Since they are in the region of front portion of face, they have visibility and are quite embarrassing to the person.

These blisters form due to herpes simplex virus (type 1). Initial indications are vomiting, nausea, dry and sore throat. Since these symptoms do appear in many diseases, hence it is difficult to predict the onset of herpes. On many occasions the disease lies dormant for a long time before the fever blisters appear.

How to Get Rid of Fever Blisters

1. Treat the Fever

The first symptom of the disease is fever. The name itself suggests that. The treatment consists of lukewarm baths and cold compresses. The areas where the compresses are to be applied are neck, arms, inner thighs and feet. The fever is also to be monitored on a regular basis.

2. Use Medications

Use acetaminophen for reduction of fever. The patient needs to be given warm tea, popsicles and needs to have enough sleep for quick recovery.

Oral Antiviral Medicine. To cater for viral infection, it is necessary to take medicines like Penciclovir, Famciclovir, and acyclovir. These medicines are not meant to prevent the outbreak of fever nor are they meant for cure, but can speedup recovery. They reduce the condition by interfering with the replication of the virus. However it is necessary that the anti-viral medicines need to be started as soon as the symptoms show up.
Topical Antiviral Medicine. The topical antiviral medicines are also effective in reducing the outbreak of herpes simplex. The topical medicines are docosanol and tromantadine. The exact mechanism of operation of docosanol is not known to the doctors but the working of tromantadine has become clear to the doctors in recent times. Because of tromantadine, surface composition of skin cells is changed.
OTC Painkillers. Over the counter (OTC) pain killers like aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen can also be used for alleviating pain of the patient. The children are not to be administered doses of aspirin since a potentially fatal risk through Reye's syndrome can occur when aspirin is given. OTC creams can be also useful in easing the pain of patient.

3. Clean the Blisters

After medication and treatment of fever, the next step will be to make sure that the pus formation in the blisters is cleared off. The pus can spread the disease to unaffected area too. Clean the area with water first and then clean with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.

4. Watch for Your Diet

Salty and spicy oily foods are a strict no-no since they need stretching of mouth while eating and such stretching can cause the blisters to be disturbed. This is likely to delay the process of healing. A better way is to take in lot of fluids for providing energy for the body. Bland foods are also acceptable.

5. Apply Other Soothing Agents

Items	Description
Salt and Toothpaste	Salt and toothpaste is effective in giving some relief to patient. A saturated solution of water and salt is used for this purpose. The saturated solution is dabbed over the blisters and allowed to remain in that condition for about an hour or so. This has the effect of drying up the blister and puss if present. The next step is mixing up of salt and toothpaste. This mixture is applied over the blisters and allowed to remain overnight. The drying action give by the combined treatment is effective in preventing spread of blisters.
Petroleum Jelly	Petroleum jelly keeps the area moist and this will prevent drying and crusting. Drying and crusting will increase the pain. Application of petroleum jelly will have another advantage. It will stop spread of infection.
Aloe Vera	Aloe Vera is a home remedy that is known to give soothing effect. Aloe vera is an ingredient in many cosmetics and medicines. Aloe vera is known to speed up the process of healing and also reduces inflammation.
Tea Bags	Damp black tea bags are also useful. Used for 10 minutes three or four times a day followed by ice packs and lemon balm to cure the sores.
Heat and Ice	Heat and ice may also be used for alleviating pain and giving relief to the patient. The ice pack needs to be applied over the blisters and move around quickly to other blisters. The application of ice should be done no more than 15 minutes at a time.
Lemon Balms	“Cold sore relief” is in fact lemon balm ointment brand name. After the ice application, lemon balm should be applied for increasing relief.
Lysine	1 Gram of lysine with one gram of vitamin C and one gram of flavonoids taken 5 times a day until the disease is cured, is a good home remedy too.
Tea Tree Oil	Tea tree oil is an excellent antiviral. The tree oil is mixed with water in the ratio of one volume of tea tree oil to two or three volumes of water. The application has to be done before the cold sores have formed.

How to Prevent Fever Blisters

Proper Diet. The diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, whole grain fiber, legumes, and protein-rich food should be taken daily. Food with refined sugar is to be avoided. Chocolates are also to be avoided since amino acids in chocolate known to fuel reproduction of herpes simplex virus. Nuts are also known to simulate this to a greater extent. The fats, salt and alcohol are also to be limited.
Supplement. Lysine tablets are useful in preventing the cold sores. Take 1 gram of lysine per day. Those with high cholesterol should not take it, as long-term use of lysine will increase the level of LDL cholesterol.
Sun Block. Roaming in sunlight aggravates the cold spores. Use a high SPF factor cream while going outside in open. Application of zinc oxide to the areas prone to fever blisters also helps in preventing cold blisters.
Stress Control. Stress is responsible for onset of many diseases including heart related diseases. The fever blister can also be reduced in severity if stress is kept under control. The stress can come from any source work, kids or finance. Yoga, aromatherapy, or meditation anything can work best for you can be adopted. Exercise and reduction of stress is better for any disease including cold blisters.
Others. Development of a strong immune system is important for healthy and disease free living. Cold cores can come from unhealthy sex habits. When you have cold sores, refrain from oral sex altogether. Oral herpes can spread to genitals while doing so and can certainly make way for other sexually transmitted diseases. Kissing can also increase the spread of cold sores. Other methods of controlling preventing or elimination are maintaining clean habits.