How Do You Tackle Cold Sores? #Abreva #ColdSore #GetReal

Winter is here. For my daughter and me, that means one thing – colds, often accompanied by by cold sores. Every winter, my daughter and I both get cold sores. They pop up at least once every cold and flu season. It’s horrible. They hurt sometimes and they look awful. It even pains me to see my daughter with that cracked, chapped lip cold sore every year. It looks like it hurts, but my sporty daughter is not super on top of tackling them at the outset. After years of this though I am on top of it and luckily we’ve found some ways to limit them as a family.

Colds Sores – The Bane of Winter

I hate cold sores. They’re gross. They’re painful. They’re gross. Yes, I know I listed that one twice. The thing about cold sores is that they make everyone feel unattractive. In addition to being painful, they make us feel incredibly self-conscious, so we try to get rid of them as quickly as possible. To that end, we always keep a first aid kit for cold and flu season on hand to help us avoid cold sores or at least get rid of them as fast as we can.

[tweetthis]What are cold sores and how can you avoid them? #coldsore #abreva #getreal [/tweetthis]

What are Cold Sores

One of the keys to getting rid of cold sores is understanding what they are. Cold sores are the result of a form of a virus. Generally, you’re exposed to the virus as a child, and you won’t see symptoms until it’s triggered by a secondary infection or the sun, cold, stress, fatigue or hormonal changes. So you’re walking around with the potential for outbreaks year round. One day, you get a cold. Or you get the flu. BAM! That’s when they hit you. Your body’s immune system is compromised just enough for the virus to get a foothold, and I get that ugly, painful sore on my lip. My daughter and I have learned to watch for the first signs of cold sores. The best way I can describe it is a tingle, or an itching, burning sensation. You can’t see anything, and it doesn’t hurt. However, you have this telltale sensation that you’re about to hop on the train to cold sore city. I am able to recognize that tingle fast now and head it off even faster with real medicine. My daughter is not as attuned to the signals her body sends her that a cold sore is on the way. Sometimes she doesn’t realize what’s happening until she has a full blown cold sore.

Cold Sores are Gross but You Can Fight Them

Tips to Avoid Colds and Cold Sores

Over the years, my daughter and I have found the following tips to be useful to help us avoid colds and cold sores, or at least get rid of them quickly. And sometimes that’s the best you can do.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is so important. It’s a powerful antioxidant that helps bolster the immune system. When fall and winter roll around, my daughter and I take a vitamin C supplement everyday to help keep our immune systems up to par.

Flu Shot

While we can’t keep a flu shot in our stash of things to fight cold sores, they have a figurative place in our first aid kit. My daughter and I get flu shots every year. Not only do they keep all the normal horrors of the flu at bay, but they also help keep cold sores at bay because they may  appear when your immune system is under attack – the flu is something you definitely want to avoid.

Hand Sanitizer

Both my daughter and I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer with us at all time. Germs live on everything you touch out in the world, so it’s important to keep those germs to a minimum. Hand sanitizer is a great way to keep those germs in check.

Fruits and Veggies

Colorful fruits and veggies are packed with important vitamins and antioxidants. Antioxidants help strengthen your immune system and your body in general, and a strong body is a body that’s able to more effectively combat the colds that give cold sores a way in to your life.

Cold Sores are Gross, but You Can Fight Them

Cold sores are disgusting, painful blights on your face, but you don’t have to be a victim. If you take the necessary precautions, you can avoid them most of the time, and on those occasions when your best efforts weren’t enough, just pull out your abreva® and decimate those cold sores in no time flat.

This post has been sponsored by abreva®. My opinion is all my own and it is 100 % truthful. 

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