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Cold sores and bleach

Submitted by Nefertete

I used to be plagued for many years by cold sores on my lip. No longer!

Once you feel that familiar first tingling sensation, immediately grab a Q-tip, moisten it with water and then dip it in full-strength bleach. Squeeze the Q-tip so that it's just moist with the bleach solution. Then, place the Q-tip against the tingling area. Hold it there for about 3 minutes. Your cold sore won't develop!!

Why does this method work? Simple. Bleach kills EVERYTHING - including viruses. And, bleach is a gas. It penetrates through the surface of your skin and gets to the virus - NOW. When you use this method ASAP upon feeling that first tingle, the virus will not have a chance to reproduce. It's the offspring of those first ones that do the real damage.

And, the good news is that the diluted bleach will not harm your skin tissue. At worst, you might simply have a very slight abrasion. But, I had no marks or ill effects whatsoever from this treatment. However, a tiny abrasion from the bleach solution is far, far better than the cold sore, don't you think?

Visitors comments

Highlighting needed in Parent post - dip in water first!! Comments By: Your mom 2nd Sentance: Once you feel that familiar first tingling sensation, immediately grab a Q-tip, <b>_moisten_it_with_water</b> and then dip it in full-strength bleach. Add: There you have it. Diluted bleach solution on a stick. Some people just might miss it on the first run through and put full strength blean in their mouth.... Not good. Just being cautious. <p> TipKing Says: Thank you very much for advising this. I have highlighted the section   Helped immediately Comments By: Anon I had bad ones coming on both corners of lip and mid-lip. This seemed to stop them dead in their tracks. mild redness lingered for a few days and crack at corner of mouth but no pain, they finally dried up also. I just kept doing the q-tip thing. Thanks!   ULTIMATE BURNING SENSATION!!!!! Comments By: Anon OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!. This really stings and burns all at the same time. I already see results. the redness isn't spreading like it normally does. Hopefully there is a lot to gain after all of this pain!!!   Finally, a "fix"!! Comments By: Stacy A friend told me about putting bleach on your fever blister as soon as you feel the tingling. I wasn't so sure.... a few days later, I felt that familiar tingling. I got some bleach and put it on a rag and held it on my lip for 4-5 minutes and it never came out, only a small scab. I could not believe it!! It worked for my husband too!! If only I had known about this 30 years ago!!!!!   hmmm Comments By: robert Im not sure if this works, But im trying it. I was going to try the asprin and bleach mixed paste but i couldnt find the asprin :(   Awesome remedy! Comments By: Andi Also, you can use ammonia. It sounds weird but it does just the same as bleach and it doesn't hurt quite as bad. The only thing is having to smell the ammonia all day on your lip; which kind of stinks. I work at a hospital and even bleach doesn't kill most viruses and infections. Ammonia does, however. Isn't that odd? So to sterilize the surgical rooms, they spray an ammonia mix all over. Try it, I promise it works!   Bleach...maybe? Comments By: Justin's Gurl I have tried every home remedy there is and nothing has worked for me. Although I'm a little skeptical of the whole bleach thing there is nothing for me to lose, because I'm desperate for this thing to go away. They always seem to pop up in the worst times. If the bleach does work believe me I will be thrilled to tell you guys all about it. Ofcourse it will sting, but would you rather have it sting for a couple of minutes or suffer days of embarrasment?!! Thank you guys for the good advice!!!!!   Not sure yet.... Comments By: H I just tried this last night. I felt the tingling sensation in the corner of my mouth....immediately after just getting over one already. Been getting them my ENTIRE life & sometimes I just wont leave the house...they get so bad. Anyway...last night & then all day today I've been applying bleach & I think it might be working. Normally by now I'd have a full blown blistery, bubbly sore but it hasn't reached that stage at all. It still hurts but definitely seems to be killing it...otherwise by now I'd have a huge clump of blisters. Hope it goes away. Anyone have any tips on getting rid of the scabs once it reaches that stage? Thats what I seem to have the problem with lately...I'm sure it doesn't help that I pick at them either...   Very important remedy 4 desperate ppl Comments By: redants hi.if your like me,your cold sores appear jus before a very important event anu hate that.i woke up one morning with a cold sore.it wasnt yet formed yet but i felt the tingle.now this is what i did and i promise you that your cold sore will be gone in just 2-3 days.when i first feel the tingle i put an ice cube in paper towel and hold it there 2 numb the lip without removing it until the ice melts.after this i take a hot tea bag an place it on the area,.it will cool very quickly so u can repeat the process as often as u like.after that place some aloe vera on it an let it dry.then take the q-tip an do as above an apply as often as u like.when thats done.u can place witch hazel 2 soothe the area and finaly some ear wax.its gross but it works wonders.this is all from a half day experience.then u shud know wat will happen in 2 days following this process.gud luck.   no more cold sore! Comments By: anon yey! this did actually work , dont get me wrong it hurt but it has stopped my cold sore developing. Its a bit scabby now but nothing like a coldsore, but just make sure you dont get the bleach on your actual skin becuase i did and it burned me!! but this is the thing to do if you dont want a coldsore! thankyouuu   Bleach Comments By: Roy I've been doing this for years, except I use full strength bleach. It will also work once the blisters are formed, but it will form a bit of a scab thereafter. But, on the bright side, it kills all virus particles dead, dries up the area and you get to the scabbing stage of the outbreak cycle that day. By the way, I used to be a wrestler who got ring work from time to time---the bleach on a q-tip also works for ring worm.   Burns!! Comments By: Jen This didn't help for me, I dipped the q-tip in wanter first and only held it on for a sec. and my lip is HUGE and I am getting married in 4 days! Hope the swelling and redness goes down.   bleach causes my cold sores! Comments By: looking for the cause I was researching trying to figure out why every time I use bleach I get a cold sore when I came across this cure tip. I wish I could say that it is the miracle cure everyone on this blog have found it to be. Just using it to sanitize hard surfaces or laundry causes me to get a cold sore.   Bleach on Q-tip Comments By: Amy This is the most rocking thing I've ever tried!!!! Thank you soooo much. Everytime I sunbathe I get one under my nose or on my lip,been like that all my life. Thanks.   HOLY COW!!!!! Comments By: MECHELE IMMEDIATELY AFTER TRYING THIS, MY SORES SWELLED TREMENDOUSLY AND GREW RAPIDLY. I WAS TRYING SOME STUFF I FOUND ON THE INTERNET CALLED ALL STOP. THIS IS A TREATMENT FOR DRYING UP POISON OAK,IVY AND SUMAC...I AM GOING BACK TO THIS TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY...IT SEEMS TO KEEP IT AT BAY UNTIL IT IS GONE AND SOMETIMES KEEPS IT FROM SPREADING...I HOPE ONE DAY TO SEE A REAL CURE FOR THIS AWFUL THING...GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU SUFFERERS OUT THERE.   a cure at last Comments By: debbie i have suffered cold sores since a little girl (for 40 years) i thought, hey, nothing to loose here, so tried the bleach stick method. WOW thank you so much, dried and gone in 2 days, no more expensive creams that dont work.   It worked instantly Comments By: John I had the blisters develop over night after putting on abreva all all day. the creams had been doing anything all day except let the blisters get worse. I found your remedy and tried it. within three minutes the blisters popped wich burned but it actually did something. It already looks like they are going away. AMAZING!!! I also wish I had read this 20 years ago.   hope it works Comments By: Jen I hope this work i was reading about the bleach and water. So i decided to try it out and hopefully if it works nomore waisting money on medication. i am just praying it goes away. I got them sincei was little and always been embarrassed to go out or even go to work, and i am 26 now. I hate getting them they are so painful.   Bleach/Germolene Comments By: James Wall I have just applied bleach and water formula to my dreaded coldsaw and it does feel a bit better already after like 5 mins. i let the bleach forula dry then applied a coating of germolene antiseptic cream and im goin to go to sleep. i shall keep u updated in the morning :)   Using aftershave Comments By: Anon i usually use aftershave on my coldsores, i woke up the other day and i had a coldsore on my top lip near the middle under my nose. i would usually use aftershave as soon as i felt the tingle but because the blisters were already there basically had to expose the coldsore by popping the blister then applying the aftershave instantly with clean hands. this usually works for me in 2-4 days depending on how large the cold sore is. I think I am going to try the bleach method as it seems to be working quite well with other people.   just did it Comments By: Anna yesterday morning i woke up with 5 HUGE cold sores on my right upper lip and i just did the bleach thing i got a cap and mixed a little bit of water with alot of bleach then used toilet paper to get it on the bisters, because i couldnt find q tips..but it busted the cold sores, and no my lip is HUGE..but it has been all day...im just waiting to see what it does...ill keep you updated   skeptic Comments By: jackie ok..like the rest of yourom theses horrid beasts.....i really hope this works...fingers crossed   At my wits end. Comments By: hurtin lips I tried the bleach while at work and it made the blister itself go away but then my lip swelled like a mo fo and was very, very red. I got home and decided to try everything else I had read. I used peroxide, which just seemed to turn the whole sore a nasty white, then I used nail polish removed which did dry it out, but doesn't last too long. I also used salt throught the day and scrubbed it in every so often. I then tried arm and hammer toothpaste but it just seemed to make it start to swell again. At my wits end I decided to dip my finger in the nail polish remover and then in crushed salt. I held that in my lip for about a minute but just left the salt on. I can feel something happening, I am not gonna lie, it's stinging like a bitch, but hopefully it works. And hopefully I haven't made it worse by trying EVERYTHING.... Lol   I really hope this works Comments By: braceface hey woke up this morning shocked i thought it would never come back my last one was FEB last year now its back same spot, anyway I tried the bleach and pray too God it works this is my only hope or I will have to wait 7 whole days,its burning but I will do anything to stop embarrasment.   going crazy here Comments By: lindz I haven't done it as yet....the idea of it doesn't sit with me very well!!! but im starting to go more crazy about having this thing on my lip any longer!! Its so sore already im just not sure I could take much more pain by adding bleach!!   getting started ... Comments By: kitty so this morning i woke up with the nasty bump, obviously a cold sore and dredding the day. so i've heard of the salt method which worked last time, just dip your finger in water then salt then on the sore. i used that about 4 times this morning of about 2 hours. at school i put lipactin on it about once every hour and a half. i came home and it was gross. 3 tiny bumps on my lip with little white tips. so the day goes on and its about 11 pm and i looked up a remedy because i dont think i can stand another day of this. sooo i tried the bleach method: filled the cap with bleach, ran the qtip under the sink tap to get it wet, then dipped it in bleach, shook it off so it wasnt dripping then held it on my sore for 3 straight mins. the white bumps are gone, for now. lets hope they stay gone. ill update tomorrow on my success or trubles. and if anyone reads this and im doing this wrong LET ME KNOW. i hate these things.   day 2 Comments By: kitty alright, ive done this bleach trick 2 times since i've last wrote and its looking the same as it did when i did it the first time. it looks like its not going down and is staying the same size and redness buuut it looks like its tiny scabbing and hopefully it will be going down. its definatly dried out now, so is that the secret to make cold sores go away ? dry it out and it'll go away ? or do i have to attack it when its dried   PLEASE DO NOT PUT BLEACH, OR NAIL POLISH OR PEROXIDE PLEASE Comments By: BRACEFACE I HAD A COLD SORE OR BLISTER ON MY LIP SUNDAY YRIED ALL THATS LISTED ABOVE MY LIP SWELL UP THE SIZE OF A DAM GRAPE GOT SOOOOOOOOO RED I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SWELLING WELL GUESS WHAT THE THING SPEAD TO THE SIZE OF THE GRAPE AND I PROMISE U I STAYED IN THE HOUSE FOR A WHOLE WEEK,TOMORROWS SUNDAY AGAIN AND ITS GONE DOWN TO THE SIZE OF A STRAW HOLE, I RECOMMEND VALTREX AND ABREVA JUST IN CASE I WILL NEVER TRY BLEACH ECT. AGAIN PLEASE LISTEN TO ME THIS HAS BEEN A TERRIBLE EXPERINCE IMAGINE STYING IN THE HOUSE A WHOLE 7 DAYS, NO SUNSHINE NO RAN NO NOTHING!THANK GOD ITS OVER GOING GET A PERSCIPTION IF I WERE U I'D DO THE SAME.   Only thing thats ever worked for me... Comments By: H I read & tried this bleach tip about 2 years ago & I haven't had a cold sore since! The trick is to put the bleach on the spot BEFORE the cold sore fully forms...the earlier, the better. Has worked ever since for me. Not that painful....although you might see a little redness....totally worth it though...this has been an absolute miracle for me.....wish I'd have known this years ago!!   3 years Comments By: b I've used this method for three years. The people who say there's a hole the size of a straw have used WAY too much. Wet the Q-tip, pour a little bleach in the cap and dip it in, THEN I very quickly run it through water again. Hold it to the spot 30 seconds MAX.   Comments By: sean I've had these cold sores for years too and they are sooo anoying. Been to different drs. but they are just cold sores from stress & not resting enough. As in terms of cures, do not apply chapsticks or lip balms cause they will make it worse. I always clean the area with some alcohol when I feel the tingling sensation or even when I have a sore. The alcohol keeps the area dry & presents the sore from forming somehow. Do not use toothpaste, it will swell up the sore, salt will cause more blisters (Doesn't work for me). I have't try the bleach+water yet but after reading few of the commnents here, I think it is useful before an outbreak, whereas using it after the outbreak causes an adverse reaction (Huge Lips). The fact of rubbing Ice on the sore is to ease the pain in case the sore is painful, especially good to do at the onset of a sore about every 10 minutes for an hr. The ice kind of prevents viruses from the nerve to the skin. Another good remedie for this is Aloe. Rubbing the juice from an Aloe plant on the sore also helps curing and preventing sores in the future. By the way, Vaseline will also help ease cracking and dryness but do not apply it on the sore or it will last longer. Apply the vaseline after the sore is gone on the dry spots. Not to forget ppl, your diet and hygiene are also important! Consume lots of vitamin C (Grapefruit is great), drink lots of clear fluids, thoroughly wash hands to avoid other outbreaks, always replace toothbrushes and apply sunscreen (at least 15 SPF) on lips before being exposed to the sun. Hope this somehow helps...   DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS LUNATIC!!!! Comments By: ANON I AM CAUTIONING ANYBODY WHO IS EVEN SIMPLY THINKING ABOUT TRYING THIS OUT. DO NOT DO IT!!!!! THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PRANKS WHICH UNFORTUNATELY MAY BE FALSELY REGARDED AS CREDIBLE "HOME" SCIENCE BY UNSUSPECTING SUFFERERS. Being the idiot that I am, I tried this remedy and found my cold sore TWICE the size with BURN MARKS ALL AROUND IT from the bleach. I had been so desperate for a solution and wanted to get back to work ASAP but this has simply made my situation worse. My suggestion is simply to get Valtrex and combine it with some other agent (Lysine, Zinc, Echinacea, Abreva, Zovirax etc. Or even Ice, green tea etc etc) in order to limit replication of the damn virus. At least these are proven methods and they WILL NOT HARM YOU OR YOUR SKIN LIKE THIS BLEACH DID TO MINE. I HOPE WHOEVER POSTED THE ORIGINAL REMEDY GETS WHAT'S COMING TO THEM.   Follow Up Comments By: Anon Just following up on the above post that I submitted yesterday. The whole bleach thing has resulted in a 1st degree chemical burn which will take approximately 1 month to heal at the earliest. While I hate cold sores, at least they only last for one week. I can only blame myself for listening to this can of bullsh*t in the first place. Now I have to miss more days of work and risk the possibility of permanent scarring due to this bleach burn. Please take care before acting on ridiculous home remedies that are now running rampant on the internet.   using bleach on cold sores Comments By: kayla I just tried this method and it seems to be working. My cold sore has gone down and the blisters have popped. It trobbed for a while but after 3-4 mins it stopped. I only kept it on the sore and didnt touch my skin and I can safely say that I didnt get burnt (as some have said they did) I would recommend giving it a go as I am very pleased with the results.   Straight up Comments By: no name So basically i though okay how about i put bleach on my face. so i figured for some kind of insurance i would look it up first. i found this. it works thank god i found this cause i was ganna put straight bleach haha. well thank dude this works.   WTH Anon Comments By: Cynic Haven't tried this as yet, may use dilute Milton instead of the ambiguous "bleach". Anon, WOT, what concentration of bleach were you using to get a chemical burn? COMMON SENSE PPL KTHNXBYE   This has worked for me for years!! Comments By: Pat I learned this from my father and mother who have been using bleach (not water and bleach, just full strength bleach) on their cold sores since I was a kid (now I have kids). It works, I actually hold the q-tip on my lip for a looong time - 10-15 minutes until the tingling and pain goes away. Not suggesting this for you, but it's what I learned and do. It creates a small red chemical burn, but it's smaller than the blister would have been and ends up healing in about 2-3 days, not 2-3 weeks.   BURNS LIKE HELL! Comments By: chrissy NOT SURE IF THIS WORKS YET, I FELT A SORE COMNG ON, PUT THE BLEACH ON IT..NOW IM SOOTHING IT W/ ICE...i cant take pain && i have a date in two days!!!   Hell Yeah!!! Comments By: Nakeya Hell yeah it works!!! It didnt clear it up yet but it dried it out and dat was less den 24 hours... I followed da direction given but i kept it on der a lil longer i think it varies per person plus mines was past da tingling feelon my cold sore was der full blown i still have a bump and a lil lil swellin but it dnt look as bad so i hope it works 4 whoeva reads dis next   best thing iv used so far. Comments By: amanda starr(; I had been using the tea bags all that did was keep it small then i used tea tree oil..nothing. and my mother-n-law had suggested bleach and i decided to see what other people thought and everyone on here says its good. so I'm trying it now. hopefully in the morning it will be smaller if not gone, thanks for the advice!(:   COLD SORE REMEDY Comments By: lizzi I have suffering from these EVIL things since I was a child. I have tried everything under the sun from over the counter products and homeopathic remedies. I woke up with one today and it ruined my whole day, because when I get one I feel like I have the flu. And the pain from it is non-stop and unbearable. I do not know what prompted me to think of bleach but I did so I decided to google it before I tried it. I have to say IT WORKS!!!!! For me anyway. The blisters have popped and yes the area is a little red and yes it did sting but not as bad as putting salt on it. This definitely works. And I DO recommend it. I would imagine that everyone is different and you have sensitive skin be cautious. But definitely give it a try. What do you have to lose.   Lysine, Releev, vitamin E and Erpace Comments By: David Hi all. Both my gf and I suffer from coldsores and have done for years. The bleach remedy sounds very risky to me! I've found that by taking lysine it really cuts down the outbreaks. I don't take it every day so I don't build up a dependency on it. If I do get one then i increase the dose to 5000mg a day and use a combination or releev and erpace on it. Both our herbal remedies as opposed to zovirax. I've also found that liquid vitamin E can really help.   ummm damn Comments By: Mark This is the third time I got cold sore and I ran into this tip. I tried it and uhh well i misread it and I didnt moisten the qtip with water it was just full strenght bleach and man it hurt I pressed it there for like 4-5 mins and it damn lol then I soaked another qtip and rubbing alcohol and pressed it there for another five minutes and then covered it up with abreva. umm is that enough to kill the virus? and also every time I apply abreva I clean the sore with qtip soaked in rubbing alcohol. and would the virus spread if i take a regular shower? Ever since I caught cold sore last year I have been just showering my body then I do my head after and i clean my face with a face cloth.   Not sure yet :/ Comments By: Nikki I applied the diluted bleach to my cold sore yesterday morning after reading this tip. Finally I thought ''Yes, a cure!'', but after about 3hours of burning, my lip swelled up to twice the size it was already swollen to, and ive been left with a hideous scab. But it usually takes my cold sores 2-3days to reach the 'scab stage', so maybe this has knocked off a few days of torture and embarressment. I shall have to wait and see, hopefully it will clear within the next few days, and I hope to God there will be no scar after. Whether or not to recommend this im not certain. If you have the patience to deal with several hours of burning on your lip, then go ahead and try it out, the results are different for everyone. But I dont think I'll be using this treatment again.   uhh Comments By: brit this did work for me but you have to be VERY carefull where u apply the bleach!! i wanted it gone so bad, i just pressed it hard to my coldsore, NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!! put it in the EXACT spot of ur coldsore, or ull have a brownish burn on ur face like me :(   gona giv it a go! Comments By: angie just got a cold sore developing and am gona try the bleach thing.felt my lip tingle early this morning and put a cold sore patch on strate away but its stil swelling.   RUBBING ALCOHOL Comments By: MICHELLE SMITH DUH I USE RUBBING ALCOHOL WIPES I HAD COLD SORES FOR ELEVEN YEARS AND WHEN I FEEL THE TINGLE I PUT RUBBING ALCOHOL WIPE ON THEM JUST WIPE IT WHERE IT IS. DNT RUB IT, THAT WILL MAKE IT BUST. I DNT KNOW ABOUT THE BLEACH I THINK IT WLD MAKE IT COME BACK CAUSED I USED BLEACH TO DYE MY HAIR ON FACE AND CAUSES COLD SORES JUST LIKE CITRIC ACID, SUN, TANNING BEDS, ANY FACE WASH WITH ACID CAN CAUSE COLD SORES, EVENS STRESS. BUT U CAN CARRY THE RUBBING ALCOHOL WIPES ON U ANYWHERE WHEN U FEEL THE TINGLE RUB IT ON THERE   WORKED FOR ME Comments By: Anon So, I thought the same thing. I developed the little bumps and did not want to go through the 3 weeks of dealing with it. So, I was like, what about bleach. I found this yesterday and decided to try it. I went home yesterday, got a q-tip, put some water on it then bleach. Put the q-tip on the affected area for about 2 minutes. It burned a little. Then after it dried I applied some abreva. 2 hrs later I already saw a difference. Then i did the same thing a few hours later before bed. Woke up this morning and they are almost completely gone. there is a little tine scab. So, I am going to do it one more time tonight and see if that completely gets rid of them. THIS IS AMAZING! Forget about getting expensive creams or medication. This really works. Oh i also put some ice on the area for a little to bring down any swelling.   Ouchy Comments By: Lyn Is all that tingling supposed to happen?When the bleached q tip is placed on the blister, it feels like my blister is having a party inside my lip! Hopefully its all the little blister baby's suffering and DYING! I hate them, kill the little suckers...LOL Stay tuned, I'll let ya know what happens.   do not use bleach Comments By: peewee i used bleach and my mouth got so swollen and infected, now anything i use burns and it still looks inflammed. not worth it trust me!!!!   AMazzINg!!! Comments By: Jenn i tried it and i had a HUGE cold sore then it like dried it and it shrunk!!! yay   Bleach works - only let it touch your lips, not skin! Comments By: good luck! Works very well for me, and I keep contact with the sore until the burning ceases and my lip numbs. I just make sure it doesn't touch my skin around my lips or it will swell and redden (chemical burn).   do it with caution!! Comments By: jason The bleach burns the blister. prevents it from forming!! I take L- lysine now and as long as I take it on a daily basis I do not have breakouts..   OMG! Comments By: Katie So, i got this new boyfriend, who i've been dying to go out with, and i got a cold sore! I've had one for like two weeks now, and it sucked. SO, i put bleach on it, and IT WORKS! It was all dry and cracky, and it hurt so bad, but then i put the bleach on it, and it's not cracky and doesn't hurt anymore. I used laundry bleach, hahaha. This saved my life!   Very Helpful Use caution Comments By: Diane OK so like most of you guys always dealt with cold sores. I've used the popping method don't do anymore they tend to spread when you pop them. I resorted to expensive medicated cremes maybe cuts the healing time by a day or so. Doing some research came across the bleach method. Skeptical Last night started feeling a tenderness on my left bottom lip took some lysine 1000mg. Woke up this morning full size blisters. So I figured I've tried just about everything else. Used water and bleach on a gauze strip applied to my lip. The blister popped and well 15 min later my sore is dried up and looks to be scabbing!! I'm going to do it again tonight before bed. Just be careful not to get on skin..   Hurts so good! Comments By: Misty Alright so I'm almost 16 and I've suffered from cold sores since pretty much the dawn of time... I've had numerous prescriptions, went through tube after tube of Abreva, and nothing seemed to work. Even the ever-popular "salt on the sore trick" didn't seem to help. So finally today I woke up with a full-blown cold sore on my upper lip and decided to look for some other ideas. A already take L-lysine tablets as well as vitamin C and a multivitamin so I'm pretty sure nutrition/ vitamin intake is not my problem. I saw this post about putting bleach on the sore and I was skeptical. However, after reading so many positive comments, I decided to try it. IT'S AMAZING! I just wet a cotton square with some water and dabbed it on my cold sore. Then, I soaked a separate square in bleach. I held that on on for about 3-5 minutes. It burned really bad and made my lip get red and puffy, but the cold sore itch-pain-iwanthisthinggone feeling had subsided and the ooze had come out of the sore. After about at least a half hour my lip felt normal again and the sore was a faint scabish thing that I barely noticed. I then repeated the procedure and this time I put the water on the swab and then soaked it in the bleach and then held it on the cold sore. It burned, but not nearly as much. That was about 10 minutes ago and the swelling is pretty much gone and it's only a little red. IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AND ESPECIALLY FEEL BETTER, I RECOMMEND THIS METHOD 100% The burning is only temporary, and as is your sore. Good luck. I hope you found this helpful.