The best way to treat a cold sore? Leave it alone!

Like many I have been plagued by coldsores for as long as I can remember.  I was extremely self-conscious about them when I was at school and first setting out into the working world, now it's more a case of, m'eh, another one.

Over the years I have spent a fortune on Blisteze, or Blistex as it became, Zovirax cream and those little clear plasters that were supposed to hide coldsores but just highlighted them to the world.  When they would stay in place anyway.

The last few flare ups have caught me unprepared and so I have left them au naturel and I was sure that they were clearing up more quickly.  I wasn't sure if this was the case or whether I was just not paying so much attention now that I was less self-conscious of them.

On Friday afternoon after a particularly stressful day at work (shouting, threatening to walk out - me,  tears - not me) I felt the ominous tingle and I decided to take note of how long the sore lasted.

According to various websites, the cycle of a coldsore is as follows

• Day 1 - 2 ; The first tingle
• Day 2 - 4 : Blisters appear and fill with fluid
• Day 4      ; Blisters burst, the area around the sores can become red
• Day 5 - 8 : Scabbing starts, the area may become itchy or there may be a burning feeling
• Day 8 - 10: Scab starts to fall off leaving the skin new and pink.

After the first tingle Friday afternoon, I woke up Saturday morning with a massive cluster of blisters covering almost half of my upper lip, however by mid morning, the blister had burst.  By the evening the scab had formed and as I write this Sunday afternoon, the scab is breaking up so I am well ahead of the accepted timescale.

I will definitely be leaving any further coldsores to their own devices.