Cold Sores

[*lee-lee*]

i woke up yesterday to feel my lip tingling...i've been getting cold sores for 10 years now so i knew what to do. i applied Abreva periodically all day only to discover the one cold sore turned into a cluster of them by nighttime. UGH! then i ran out of Abreva late last night so i'm off to get more.

does anyone else get cold sores and what do you use for them? my lip is burning and tingling and i feel like i'm talking funny so i don't move my mouth too much.

did i get glutened and this is how it's coming out? i don't feel feverish and i'm not overly stressed (i was 2 weeks ago but not so much anymore) so i'm not sure what else would have caused it. stress or too much sunlight usually triggers cold sores in me but since it's been about 2 degrees for the high temp, i haven't exactly been spending much time outside lately!

[RiceGuy]

A lot of people report mouth sores of one type or another. Sometimes from a glutening, other times from something else. If you haven't been getting them for awhile since going gluten-free, and haven't had anything new in your diet, skin/hair care products, etc, then I'd think it was gluten related. But if you're continuing to get sores at the same rate since gluten-free, then I'd be thinking there's something in your diet or skin/hair care products that is getting you.

[*lee-lee*]

i usually get 3-4 cold sores on average per year. what's strange though is that i specifically remember purchasing Abreva last January so i know i had a cold sore this exact same time last year (before i was gluten free). the only thing different i've eaten lately is the new Strawberry Chex on Saturday morning. i hope i didn't get glutened from them because they're so good!

[fedora]

my daughter was get 3 kinds of mouth sores

cold sores, sores in the corner of her mouth, and white sores in her mouth

the PA said the ones in the corner are from a bacteria/ yeast combo

the white sores in the mouth are associated with celiac, which my daughter does not have

the cold sores are herpes. I thought her sores may have been from gluten, I put her on a gluten free trial diet. I ended up getting her sore swabbed and it was positive for herpes.

I would suggest getting your sores tested.

[*lee-lee*]

i know my sores are cold sores, as a form of herpes. when i had my first outbreak over 10 years ago, i had to go to the dentist and regular doctor because it was so bad. my lips were covered and then they spread to the insides of my mouth and even on my tongue. the doctors confirmed they were legit cold sores and prescribed Denavir (OTC Abreva wasn't on the market yet). it was horrible and thankfully i haven't had an outbreak nearly as bad. i wouldn't wish cold sores on my worst enemy.

[jitters]

L-Lysine works awesome for me to hold off those cold sores. It is an amino acid and you can find it in the vitamin aisle at any store. Its way way cheaper than Abreva (which doesn't work for me anyway). I take two pills in the morning and two at night. Believe it or not its made my acne go away too.

I used to get cold sores when glutened all the time, and once in awhile just out of the blue. Lysine makes them way smaller and they don't scab over and heal faster for the rare times I get a cold sore now.

I should add that the bottle suggests taking one in the morning and one at night- I'm taking two now but am going to lower my dosage to what the bottle suggests. If you're taking any other meds, you might want to ask your doctor about Lysine but everything I've read says Lysine is safe.

[EmmyLouWho?]

I dealt with cold sores for the last 15+ years myself! It's a terrible problem to have. Thankfully, since going gluten-free, I had one small one and that was all. The only thing I found that has ever helped me is a product called "Kanka". It numbs the area (temporarily) so at least I'd be able to get through a meal without so much pain. My cold sore that I'm getting over happened a few days after I got glutened. Coincidence? In my opinion, no way.

Hope you find some relief and that you don't experience any more!

*lee-lee* - I didn't think the strawberry chex were gluten-free. I might be wrong but as far as I knew only the plain rice chex are gluten-free. I hope I'm wrong for your sake!

ETA: My cold sores are always inside the mouth, never on my lips so Kanka may not work for coldsores on the actual lip

[Nilesrx]

I dealt with cold sores for the last 15+ years myself! It's a terrible problem to have. Thankfully, since going gluten-free, I had one small one and that was all. The only thing I found that has ever helped me is a product called "Kanka". It numbs the area (temporarily) so at least I'd be able to get through a meal without so much pain. My cold sore that I'm getting over happened a few days after I got glutened. Coincidence? In my opinion, no way.

Hope you find some relief and that you don't experience any more!

*lee-lee* - I didn't think the strawberry chex were gluten-free. I might be wrong but as far as I knew only the plain rice chex are gluten-free. I hope I'm wrong for your sake!

ETA: My cold sores are always inside the mouth, never on my lips so Kanka may not work for coldsores on the actual lip

I used to get them all the time...big and bad! I just got one the other day, first in a long time. Valtrex and Abreva work great. Valtrex stops mine almost instantly and what is left I simply keep Abreva on it 24/7. I would definately have your Dr get you a rx for Valtrex 1gm, you take two the instant you feel one coming on. I dont mind them anymore because it wipes it out.

[wartburg03]

I've been getting cold sores since I was 4. I get them on my nose, around my eye, on my lip, and even once in my eyeball! I have had a lot of success with avoiding foids with a high arginine/lysine ratio. This means avoiding foods like nuts, peas, and caramel coloring (plus lots more) as a general rule, but even more so when my system is stressed out. If I do feel one coming on (like right now ), I break out the lysine and take 3,000 mg 3-4 times a day. Often that keeps them at bay. I usually take 1,000 mg a day for prevention. Good luck!