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(121) comments about this tip

Salt and toothpaste for cold sores

Submitted by miranm1

I stayed up for hours on the internet reading up on cold sore remedies so and the most talked about things i found were toothpaste and salt.

So i tried mixing the to togeather in a thick paste.it worked wonderfully for me.

Visitors comments

Toothpaste works Comments By: mitchwacon Toothpaste is the best thing for a developed cold sores. It cools and numbs the blood flow allowing quick healing. Never break the sores and always wash the sore area before applying the paste. Use regular white tooth paste, not the gel and watch it disappear. This is the best thing to use for the early tingly stage also.   Toothpaste works! Comments By: Krista I have spent alot of money on coldsore remidies for years, then someone suggested toothpaste. I used toothpaste the next time I had a coldsore, and it worked fast!Nomore spending all that money on coldsore treatments that don't make it dissapear any faster.   So far, so good. Comments By: JAMIE I'm trying the toothpaste thing for the first time and I've got to say it's doing something. As soon as I put it on, I could feel it drying up my cold sore. I bought an OTC treatment (Aveeno), it does an OK job, but I can't afford spending ten dollars ona 0.07 OZ tube every time a cold sore comes around. So I am really glad this toothpaste idea is working. Thanks!   Trying Right Now! Comments By: Samantha Iim trying it right now and i can almost feel it working! thanks so much!   great great Comments By: jeremy i can feel it working right noe as it like taking the hurt away   It works. Comments By: ovplain I've been using tooth paste to get rid of my cold sores for years now and it has always worked super fast!:)   Remedy Comments By: aargh I have got a cold sore for the 1st time in years, at the worst possible time, meeting my boyfriends parents. anyway, the salt and tothpaste combo seems to dry it up, but as soon as it was drying, i put fucidin, alcohol which seemed to undo all my work, just trying plain toothpaste now. seems soothing. wish me luck.   Try this,.,. Comments By: Scott From Maine Heres what I did,.,., It hurt, Im not Gonna lie, But hey, Cold sores hurt,.,. First, I put some rubbin alcohol in a spoon and let the cold sore on my lip soak in it for a bout a minute, Figured it would soften up the area (as if it werent already soft) but anyways, Then I used a piece of toilet paper and wiped away the alcohol REAL HARD, Like Scrubbed it off,.,., THEN, threw that away, Used another piece of toilet paper and kinda poppped the bubbled that are the cold sores so that the liquid was oozing out,.,. wiped that away and put more alcohol into the spoon and poured some table salt in there,.,. took another clean peice of toilet paper and wiped up some alcohol and salt from the spoon and applied it to the open sore,.,., and kinda patched the whole cold sore with salt,.,.cuz in order for salt to work it has to be mixed with liquid to desolve, and you can feel it desolving into the open sores,.,. IT STINGS LIKE A #$%!*, But honostly, You can feel it penetrating and working,.,., Good luck if you wish to use this advice,.,., and remember wash you hands and always use clean toilet paper or whatever,.,., the virus lingers!!! Good Luck   Warning Comments By: mk Using salt on a sore of any kind damages the skin around the sore, which increase your chnace of having another cold sore in the same spot.   My tip = ) Comments By: vanessa So ive been having cold sores for a few years , i had abreva and that small tube just doesnt seem to be that efficient for some reason. I suggest that you use ice at the first sign of the infection. it really works! try it and youll see! i used ice & hand syntanizer withh alcohol && aloes gel. Use that it really works! My scold sore barely grew! It been two days now and its practically all gone. theres onlyy the dried up thing there noww. This has been the quickest way its worked for me! Try it! I will try the tooth paste thing for my next one tho!   I hear toothpaste works muy bien. Comments By: Anon It seems everytime I aplly toothpaste it drys, strings, and somehow comes off with the scabs. Although, i dont know how much to use? how long do you leave it on? do you never let it get wet, even in the shower? Because it's always moist and it's been three days and not to good results for me. Anyone know the trick, because I got to go to senior week and graduation!   REALITY Comments By: craig Sorry folks, but the truth is there is no quick remedy! I'm 50 and have tried everything, I mean everything. Here's my advise. When it comes to cold sores it's important to contain it from getting bigger by protecting the lip cels, use something for pain and moisturize it from cracking and bleeding. Takes 6 to 10 days depending on severity. Use Abreva to contain, and reduce pain, for days 1-5 neosporin to help with the wound days 5-8 and lip balm the rest. If toothpaste really worked, some pharmaceutical company would be making billions marketing it!   matches Comments By: sheila I heard sulfer works, I put a match on my last one (burns really bad)seemed 5% better the next day not a huge inprovement but something. Hurts for the moment but takes the pain away in the long run..what ya got to loose matches are free!!   WORKS FAST!!!!! Comments By: Jackie Read this page, mixed toothpaste and salt, right away cold sore was drying up in matter of minutes....   Hey! Comments By: Megan A month and a half ago, I got a really BIG cold sore.. I mean.. This was huge. In the beggining stage, ice it! It helps the swelling go down. (I usually use the hole icecube0 After, get some mint tea bags. Put it in warm water ((Like your making tea)) Except take the tea bag and put it on your lip! It soothes and dries it out. The coldsore should be done in about 5-6 days :)   WORKS! Comments By: Nikki YES! this actually works. I just tried it. i makes it numb and cools it down. TRUST me i TRIED everything!!!   yay Comments By: longman Awsome. worked a charm!   Very nice! Comments By: Danny Very nice! It worked wonderfully! Thank you!   Well look at that.... Comments By: Amanda i had already put toothpaste on my cold sore before i looked it up (not very bright, but i'm sick, i'm not functioning that well anyway). but lo and behold, i found this site where toothpaste is a remedy for a cold sore. before i put it on, i considered a beauty tip that i got online for pimples. applying toothpaste directly on the pimple helps it by drying up the oil and gunk underneath the skin. in the morning, my pimple(s) were extremely minimized and even gone. i figured, maybe it will work for my cold sore, maybe not in that exact manner (since it develops by means of a virus), but close to it. so, i hope it works for me as it has worked for others.   Nah... Comments By: Amanda Ok, so I tried the toothpaste remedy, and I felt the tingle, but that's about all it did. So, instead, I got some Abreva, which was highly recommended on almost all the other websites I looked up. That's the good stuff. My cold sore's almost gone, and I just started using it Tuesday.   Different Treatments Comments By: JER Using abreva immediately when you feel the slight itch, or see it. Also, using TEA TRE OIL is great for acne and blisters and various other reasons, scratches ect. The smell of tea tree oil is strong, but it works, some gargle it for sore throats FYI. Make sure Abreva is applied many times a day, at least ten. I am aware its costly, but if you want to save the embarassment of having one, do so.   cold sore Comments By: katie omg i have these 2 huge soars they so ugly im embaressed to be in skool!! im tryin the toothpaste n salt thing right now i hope it works wish me luck   EXPERIENCED Comments By: nana I've been havin cold sores since the age of 4..was hard goin through life I wuld get like 3 at a time embarassin at skol jusss plain horrible! My doctor reccomended zorvirax but that's prescribed I use dat its great at burnin it off...but its alwayz good to make sure u catch it b4 hand put ice on it and the ointment. If u want one u can actuallly buy get abreva. Toothpaste does work but like I noe its not gunna disapear in a day if its severe like mines. Also I been takin lysine tablets to help build up my immune in order to prevent cold sores. U NEED a LOT of VITAMIN C! Stay heathy guys chocolate and junkfood and soda juss makes it worse. Hope I helped   Toothpaste and extract to dry those buggers up! Comments By: woohoo If your not going anywhere or right before bed, use a pretty thick layer of white toothpaste. Not sure the gel kind works or not but white certainly does!! Since I will NOT put bleach or nail polish remover on my beautiful lips, I use lemon extract(I always have some on hand as peppermint or lemon extract work great for toothaches also). I imagine any kind with a high alcohol content will work! Dries up like a dream!   Toothpaste Works Comments By: `Anon' I havn`t been in school in weeks, and now that im going back tomorrow a cold sore just had to magically appear on my upper lip, I was looking for home remedies to cure cold sore outbreaks and toothpaste is frequently talked about and starts drying up the infected area INSTANTLY so apply white toothpaste   My Cold Sore Remedy. Comments By: Hannah Ray I got three cold cores all on one side of my lip. I possible couldn't imagine going anywhere with this thing on my lip! So I ask around and my mother tells me of how she used toothpaste. I thought she was insane, but I tried it. First day, it dried it all up. And now I'm going on my second and I hope to God it'll make it go away. Not only that, but I get some ice and ice it for about ten minutes once every hour. So far, it looks like I might make it alive out of this one.   toothpaste really works Comments By: freddy i have been using toothpaste since my first cold sore and it works like MAGIC! :)   workin on it Comments By: mo mo i jus got a cold sore yesterdy 1/20/08 & i have skool in the morning so im am tying this toothpaste thing hopev it wrk i cn feel the tingle   Well I don't know... Comments By: Holly I've had cold sores about 4 times in my life? I'm 19 now. I got them the year before last in October SOOOO bad all around my lips when I was on Vacation in Alabama. And in March of that year they were ALL OVER MY FACE! It was horrible! Now they've popped back up with no signs last year. Just when Saturday I have to go to a party and I don't know what I'm going to do because my bf will be there. But it's kind of mandatory that I go. I'm trying the toothpaste thing. I don't know if it will work or just make them worse. It's Friday morning now. So hopefully they're pretty much gone by Saturday morning/afternoon. I had broken out with them a week or so ago. I lied and told everyone they were just whiteheads that I popped. Now I don't know what to tell everyone! =[   WASTE OF MONEY Comments By: Anon That abreeva is a waste of money...i bought it twice and my cold sore still took forever to heal but this toothpaste thing is tingling. Hopefully that means its working..i have two days until i go back to school and i want this thing GONE...   Cold Sores. Comments By: Erica I generally lance the blister with a needle, be careful not to lick the open spot when it weeps, just dab it with a paper towel, the weeping clear fluid has BILLIONS of the virus in it and that is how it spreads. I then began using Herpacin-L today and Lysine+, I started the day with one cold sore and ended with three. ARG. I started putting Abreva on every ten minutes once I found some. I have decided to resort to toothpaste as I have an important day tomorrow. It usually works for me, also CamphoPhinique works REALLY well at drying it up, it burns like a mother but it WORKS   DESPERATE FOR THE THING TO LEAVE! Comments By: JK I used to get cold sores all the time. Then for about 8 years, I haven't as so much thought about them. Then one day ago I get the BIGGEST and I mean BIGGEST, UGLIEST cold sore I have ever seen. It was so out of the blue, I didn't even get the "tingling" sensation. So, naturally I put the coldsore cream I had lieing around in the cupboard, Blistex or whatever it was called. It didn't even feel like it was working. This morning I wake up and YUCK, even UGLIER and BIGGER. I know I have to be patient with these things, but quite honestly I don't have the time to be patient, I go back to school in 5 days and i DO NOT NEED this. Typical, that when my skin is near perfect one of these ugly smackers decides to turn up. Anyway, I've been applying the cream all day and no such luck. So, here I am looking on the internet for a quick-fix when I come across this website. Reading the comments I established that Toothpaste is a good remedy. So, without further a do, I wiped off the cold sore cream, which made it look uglier by the way (all yellow and red - it was sick) and applied toothpaste. It actually feels like its working. I no longer have the feeling I need to itch it and it feels a lot better - almost relieved, yet like it's still working hard to get rid of the filthy thing. Will post back with the results! Let me tell you, I will ecstatic when it does decide leave the corner of my mouth and go back to sleep!   The buggers back D= Comments By: Tenrou Ugh. I got one at the wrong time. I go back to school Tomorrow (7/01//09) And It's all horrible and red >.< Im gonna try the toothpaste and salt thing, im gonna be laughed at again T_T   toothpaste and salt Comments By: jaime rodriguez im trying this remedy to see if it works i have applied carmex and it did not do anything but made it look shine so i came on here to look for a remedy and usualy anyone has salt and tootpaste so i hope it works what i did was i cleaned the affected area with water then with a qtip i applied poroxide and then i got some toothpast the white stuff that has poroxide in it and then i got some salt and mixd it up and applied it to the area i do feel it tingel i wnat to get ride of this dam thing its day one hopefully it will be gone soon   NEED that thing off ASAP!!!! Comments By: lizzeth madrigal i just woke up and im having the tingling thing and im here looking for a cure!!! the thing is i have to go to school in aboout 45 min and i have toothpaste on my lip!! the worse part is that i have a date tonight!!! what am i going to do??? is the toothpaste thing effective right away???? please help!!!   i hate coldsores Comments By: tanz well basically wen i was in jamaica i got a cold sore i was told to use carmex but i fink it was the sea salt that done the work not the carmex so i mixed salt and tooth paste together before i even foud this site then to hear that every 1 had tryd it i feel like relly stupid i ddnt try it ages ago lol ... but yeah im just waiting for the results   here we go again. Comments By: Amy I just got this cold sore on my top lip. and i have school tomorrow. i really dont want anyone to laugh at me especially my boyfriend! i just put toothpaste on it about 15 minutes. i feel the tingling. will it go away by tomorrow? help!   The cold sore!!!! Comments By: panther monkey 509 I have the biggest cold sore in the freakin world!!!! ive been trying the salt thing and it seems just to clean it but not really heal it.... so dont do that im trying out the crest white toot-paste and it feels amazing on my lips but dont really know if its doing anything.... i hope so cause i have spring break comming up and a cold sore in cancun it a no go;(   it happens Comments By: the herpster well i got another case of the dreaded cold sore. havent got one in about 4 months which is along time for me. when i was in high school i got them like every month it was absolutely humilliating people called me the herpster and im a guy u cant cover it up with makeup. id get them bad too once i remember i got 3 at once a huge one over my top lip and they took a month to heal. I tried loads of stuff but most of the creams over the counter dont work. i had this zinc stuff and that helped it heal but it just seamed to layer it over. And dont lie about having a coldsore cause the truth will come out u just got to live with it or tell people to get lost, lots of people get them atleast have the balls to telll them to do one. It really worrysome having a coldsore but try not to think of it and your immune system will work better if its not under stress, try and ignore it and for gods sake dont touch it. I find the best preventative is to keep your lips healthy and smooth, if they get red and hot its a perfect time for coldsores to grow, i got this one from being out all day in the cold. Also lysine can help in your diet, foods high in lycine are yogurt, dairy and meats, foods to avoid are nuts, chocolate, coke and fruit with acid like oranges can fester the coldsore when it appears. I used to take liscene tablets daily but dont have time for them now as im in the millitary. Staying healthy helps too i used to do lots of drugs when i got coldsores in highschool but since ive joined the millitary ive only got 3. As for when u geT an outbreak apply ice as soon as it burns straight away this can stop the virus and give u a few days or it wont come at all. Get a big pot of yogurt, as this is full of lysine and will help heal the virus from the inside. Watch your diet, for eating foods high in lysine and low in argentine. After icing if the sore is still there i use zovirax it worked a treat the first time i used it but now im more imune to it. have to say i havent tried toothpaste it will dry it up probably but i find the worst part of a coldsore is when it scabs over to heal. Usualy my coldsores go away in a day or 2 but take forever to heal properly, i was playing football today and someone hit me in the mouth the scab from the coldsore came off and my lip bled like mad, now it has to scab over again and its got a really red bloody scab thats more noticeable than before. But tonight i put tea bags on it a couple times and it really seemed to heal. First i dabbed a qtip in mouthwash and let it soak in to the sore them i put a tea bag wich i had just boiled on it and it seemed to shrink a bit. will put toothpaste on tonight to hopefully dry up the scab, i know aloe vera has really good healing properties but i got not of that. try not to let the scab crack it will heal quiker if u leave the scab, even if u think it will look better without it. good look everyone dont get too stressed about it u see it more than anyone else.,   Hope it workzz!!!. Comments By: Keenan yoo!. ive got one rite noww. suckss big time mayne. all the boys are like wtf iz dat thang on yo lip.. im likee. damn foo it juzz a bee sting:L ahahahahha. nahh. i put ice at the first signn so it doesent swell up.. then i put toothpaste.. i can feel it tinglin.. mayne i hope this shit works, co zi ahvent seen ma gurl in 3 dayzz. dayom i dunno wat she'll say wen she seez me.. im blackk so it sorta camoflouges n u cant really see itt. unless u like tell some1 uve got one haha. well. i can feeel it tinglin.. i hope this shit workz. ill be doin this errtime i get one. I HATE COLD SORES, its been 5-6 monthz since my last one. im outt   heeeelp Comments By: ss33 i get them all the time, i always buy zovriacks but it just heals at the same pase as if i leave it to heal itself, all day ive been putting perfume on it, and the blisters have gone a bit strange, im wondering if before you put the toothpaste on should you pop it??   ooo noooo Comments By: janette omg goin out dis wknd nd wat do yano bloody cold sore so im gona try dis toothpaste fing hope it works lyk do ya av to mix salt wit it r wa?? btw lykin des ideas didnt no wat i was goin to do cnt stop touchin da fing!!! lol x   Just a try Comments By: Tee Tee 82 I just applied the salt and toothpaste to my cold sore for 20 minutes just to see what will happen. It dried up a little. If it did it in this little time, then I know it should work tonight when I get home. DEFINITELY will be applying this tonight. Big day tomorrow. THANKS FOR THE GREAT TIP!!!!!   cold sores suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Comments By: mslovely2011 im trying it know and seems to be working other things like tea bags only shrink them for a moment or two then the hurt even more.... sucks doesn't. I hope this works dammit i was supposed to go out tonight   HOPEEEE IT WORKS ! Comments By: Mina. i can feel thee tinglee lol . hopefully tht means its working cuhs i really wannna go tooo school tommrow .   Trying it now Comments By: Carleigh I just got my cold sore two days ago...I've just heard about this toothpaste thing...Im not sure what "stage" my cold sore is at...its dry...and kinda looks like a scab but you know...anyhoo i just put some toothpaste on it...and its been burning for about 5 minutes now....hopefully it works :)   COLD SORES SUCK Comments By: Cookielover ok guys i say that you dont need to use anything but Anbesol it works better and makes it go away in 2 to 3 days. it is really good. The other people are pulling ur leg cause i tried it all and it didnt work. but this stuff really does work.   TOOTHPASTE? Comments By: jer18 I GOT MY COLD SORE 4 DAYS AGO, AND I STILL HAVE IT.. HOPE TOOTHPASTE WORK WITH ME. I TRIED GARGLE WITH SALT AND NOTHING HAPPEN. I USE TO DRINK MYCOSTATIN TABLET AND UNTIL NOW ITS STILL THE SAME PAIN...   fixing cold sores Comments By: anon The toothpaste thing worked for me everytime I tried it so far.I woke up today with another cold sore so I applied regular clear white toothpaste not the colored ones and I already feel it working so try it out.   Long time cold sores Comments By: Cold sore expert Ive been getting cold sores since i was practically born. I have had um to 20 a year and often times more than 1 at a time. there is a perscription you can get from you doctor that helps otherwise use abreva. I just got a cold sore yesterday and it is almost gone now. put it on right away and it will help. also take lysine pills they help lessen your chance of getting one   I HATE COLD SORES! Comments By: CC At the moment I have 5 cold sores on my mouth, it looks awful and feels even worse! I usually take acyclovir tablets which really help but I have ran out, picking up a prescription from the doctor tomorrow! So I'm trying the toothpaste now, it's stinging like mad! I hope it works or else I'm going to work tomorrow with a paper bag over my head!   toothpaste or pepto bismol ?? Comments By: Diana B. hey everyone i just wanted to say i cured my cold sore by putting some anbesol at 1st when i statrted to get the cold sore and then after an an hr or so i cleaned the infected area with alchol and then i put thoothpaste and salt and it really works .. but before i found out about all that i used to use pepto bismol .. i know who would of thought but it works not fast but it does after five days it was gone!! BUT ALWAYS MAKE SURE U USE HAND SANITIZER!! or keep ur hands clean so it doent spread !!   coldsore Comments By: sandy OMG!!! i have 2 ugly cold sore on my lip im tryin the toothpaste thing i hope it works...   TOOTHPASTE WORKS BETTER THAN MEDICINE Comments By: Jessica Bunney i but the toothpaste on my freshly washed lip and it stung alot for the first 5 minutes. but after that it was easing. i then took it off with a wet flannel after a mild 15 minutes.it made a drastic change and relieved all pain. i then put "carmex" lip balm on after. this lip balm helps to prevent cold sores and reduce the time in which they last. each night you should put the toothpaste on before bed and wash it off in the morning for best results. this works brilliantly. DO NOT USE SALT WITH IT AS SALT INCREASES THE CHANCE OF FUTURE COLD SORES DRASTICALLY AS IT WEAKENS YOUR SKIN TISSUE!!!!!!!!!!!   I HATE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!! Comments By: Anon Seriously, I'd rather have a hangover than have a cold sore. But I've got one, one huge one surrounded by little ones. It's a monster!!! and it itches and hurts like crazy. I just tried out the toothpaste mixed with salt thing and my god it BURNS! But I am determined to keep it on and GET RID OF THIS THING.   Cold soars Comments By: sdd hey guys i get cold soars about once a year so i have tried everything on the internet so i am goign to try this overnight wish me luck!   THE BEST PERIOD Comments By: DSA I have rheumatoid arthritis (age 48) and a suppressed immune system by Enbrel and previously, Methotrexate, which gave me repeated cold sores every 20 days or so for 6 months. NOTHING ever worked. I stopped the MXT and had no more cold sores for several months and figured that episode was over until now. 2 days ago there was the itching, and then, there it was again, under my lip in its traditional spot. Having used all the expensive stuff in the past, and using Releeve for 1 day to no noticeable difference, I decided to go with the toothpaste & salt ( sea salt) combo, and SURE ENOUGH, I am on the road to healing and instead of having it just get uglier and uglier until it runs its course, it's going away. I would never recommend such a course of treatment, if I didn't know FIRST HAND that it is absolutely true. However, it is just as crucial to catch it at Day 2, otherwise, no promises. Thank you guys for the tremendous tip! Wish you could find one for my RA!   Toothpaste and salt for cold sore Comments By: Cara Thanks for the tips. I've just applied tooth paste and mix salt to my cold sore and it's burning like hell. But I'm not having this thing on my face for another day. Will leave it on all night. Will let you know the outcome tomorrow. Wish me luck...   YES TOOTHPASTE WORKS - BUT HERE IS SOMTHING BETTER! Comments By: Dr. McDougall YOU MAY FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE... BUT THE FASTEST HOME REMEDY FOR CURING A COLD SORE IS URINE.. CONFIRMED BY DERM DR'S AND ALL OVER THE NET... FACT IS - USING THE TOOTHPASTE METHOD WILL TAKE 3 DAYS FOR THE LEGION TO HEAL - WHILE IF YOU USE URINE, APPLY IT DIRECTLY TO SORE, IT TAKES 28 HOURS TOPS, THE RESULTS ARE ASTONISHING! GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER YOU DECIDE   dnt use toothpaste Comments By: kelly I would not reccommend the toothaste it made mine flare up worse again so i used the vinegar and that made it dry over the same day so use that instead   vinegar n toothpaste Comments By: kelly hey, this is the 3rd day of my coldsore, i have been using a otc coldsore cream and its just got more blisters n worse.. So came on here looking for tips. I have been applying vinegar all morning and that reduced the size of the 3! Coldsores i have at once altho it stings a lot! now that there smaller ive put toothpaste on in hope that they'll dry up now n go away! Will let u know the results x   WOW IM TRYING IT Comments By: ARIEL ♥ IM RYIN THE TOOTHPASTE THING &&IT BURNS RELE BAD....I HOPE IT WORKS   yet another cold sore.. im usin dis Comments By: cold sore vitcm i been havn cold sores since i was in 5th grade. now im bout to be a senior.. we n da summer and i had alll summer to have a sore.. but suddenly we im bout to take senIOR PICS TOMARO IT WANNA POP UP.. abrEVA REALLY WORKS BUT it'll take like a day or 2 to be gne.. this came up las min! but i got da toothpaste on rite now.. an its stingin a lil.. i hope by tomaro is gone   CHECKING IT OUT Comments By: ANON I'VE JUST APPLIED DA TOOTHPASTE IVE HAD THIS COLDSORE FOR 2 DAYZ NOW SO HOPEFULLY THE TOOTHPASTE THING WORKS, AND MY LIP IS SWOLLEN IT LOOK HORRIBE AND MANKYY AND I DIDNT INTO SKWL 2DAYY AND I JUST WONNA GET RID OF IT FAST, MIGHT USE ICE AFTER I WIPED AWAY THE TOOTHPASTE - I CAN FEEL THE COLDSORE TINGLING WID THE TOOTHPASTE ON AND I MIGHT LEAVE IT ON FOR 10 MINS SO GOOD LUCK TO THOSE HU TRY DIZ (: X   Cold sore remedies! Comments By: Mandi Waddell Well i have a cold sore right now and I've always used Abreva and it did just the same thing as like Carmex. But anyway my sister always put toothpaste on her pimples so I applied that technique to my coldsore because I figure that it is the same basic principle: To dry it out! Well I got the cold sore yesterday and I put the toothpaste on it and it seems to be working very well. It not only has tkebn the pain away but, it hasn't gotten any bigger so that is definitely a good sign that this stuff works. It's great!!!   The dreaded cold sore! Comments By: no onee another one popped up this morning.. out of the blue!! wtf! no tingling warning of anything@ im sitting here with toothpaste on my lip because i have a cook out tomorrow and i dont wanna look like a herpes queen! at least its the summer and i dont have to go to school! at one time i got 5 at once! it was an allergi reaction to that chapstick 'softlips'... ill never use that again!! then sophomore year i got three on my top lip three days before homecoming! it was awful. i called my doctor and i was perscribed a medicine that is for aids patients, for when they get out breaks. no i dont have that kind of herpres, but it worked so well!! you couldnt even see them at homecoming! now i use denavir lotion or alcyvir pill ... ABREVE DOES NOT WORK! 18 dollars for that tiny tube is a rip off!!! ugh i hope this goes away by the cookout!   BEGONE ALREADY THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!!!!!! Comments By: ashley ok this is day 9th of having the goddam cold sore and i miss kissing my bf and im sad cuz idk what to do anymore its ruining my last days : (( i need help my lips has unswelled so im good but the nasty white goopy looking skin is there so do that mean it has to dry? can i kiss my boyfriend? what can i do? it peels off and comes back :( im so miserable i need help NOW!!!!!!!i try using carmax and chapstick and all that shit but c'mon DISAPPEAR ALREADY!!!! I WANNA WEAR MY NEW LIPSTICK I BOUGH T5 DAYS AGO :( I WANNA KISS AGAIN :( i had a new baby niece and every had the chance to kiss her forehead except me :( everyone grrets each other with kisses on the cheek except me every smiled in the picture except me cuz my lips were dry and they hurt :( i was sad all that day on the baby shower :( i fell like this NASTY COLD SORE WILL NEVER DISAPPEAR!!!!:((   cold sora r a pain :(( Comments By: ashley i just got my cold sore 3 days ago and all i did was use crmax thinking to myself "this better work" but it didn't cuz it just kept my lips moiste and i didn't want that i want that feeling that "it will work" feeling and DAM nothing until i stopped by this here:))) i was happy to read every ones stories idk about salt lolz im scared :)) so ima do the toothpaste thingy lolz bu tjust one thing is the toothpastes with bakingsoda ok to use??? if anyone have an answer plz get me at my yahoo.com: asian_sweets19@yahoo.com   toothpaste hurts my lips:OOOOUUCHH!!!! Comments By: ashley im crying a lot :( cuz no one told me this was gunna burn my lips :(( im mean i got the toothpaste on my lips now and its killing me!!!!! what did i do wrong now???? is it suppose to feel this tingly??? i mean OUCH!!!!!!! this is killing me and i have to go to bed now like its 2:25 am and its hard to go to bed like OUCH!!!!!!   hold the salt Comments By: Dino I think the guy who said to put salt on it was just having a laugh at our expense. I tried it and it burned like crazy, it took hours for it to stop hurting and the salt was deteriorating the skin around the sore. I took the salt off and went back to the abreeva. The Abreeva seems to work for me because my cold sores tend to get bigger and bigger for the first few days or even a week. This was my first time trying the Abreeva and the sore has stayed the same size it was when I first put the Abreva on it. The Abreva is supposed to stop the virus from "fusing with" (read here, "blowing up") the cells of your lip. So, while the Abreva doesn't kill the virus, it can't do the type of damage that takes (for me at least) three weeks to heal (God, I can't take that). I am in day three of my latest one and the sore is only the size of a pea, and getting smaller, usually it's spread all across my lip by now. I have found some good tips on this page all of which I'm sure I'll try. I've got campho -Phenique on my grocery list and I'm finally making an appointment to see a doctor to get the good stuff. But for now, the Abreva seems to be helping, and that's all ican ask. Don't try the pure salt though, I don't believe that was meant to be helpful.   abreeva worked well Comments By: Dino Here's the story of my latest cold sore. I haven't had a "bad" one in several years, mostly because I never go anywhere without a tube of camphor lip balm (I use Natural Ice)I use the lip balm several times a day, 365 days a year. This alone cut down my frequency from several per year to one every few years. When I feel the "tingle" I use the lip balm and most of the time it never breaks through the skin and goes away in a few days and nobody knows but me. On Monday (8-3-09)I felt the tingle around noon, I used the lip balm furiously but this one was ferocious. by 6:00 pm it was a bump on my lip about the size of a pea, but not yet blistering. Tuesday morning there was not much change. By Tuesday afternoon the bump was the size of a large pea and beginning to send its horrible little pustules to break the surface. Wednesday morning the pustules had broken through, so I called off work and did a little research. I read a bout Abreva and decided to try some. Since it's been a long time since I was in high school, the $20.00 price tag for tiny tube wasn't really a problem (although I did have a mild case of "stickershock"). I tried the Abreeeva and the sore stopped growing (which is unusual for me, they usually spread once they break the skin, which is why I would caution you against puncturing the pustules with a needle and soaking with alcohol as some above have suggested, I've tried it, it just makes it spread and take MUCH longer to heal) But anyway, it stopped growing it didn't spread which was great news. I kept the abreeva on it, adding more from time to time until I had built up a little "cap" over the blister. Wednesday night, I took a wet Q-tip and gently wiped away the "cap" and was amazed to see that all the pustules were gone. Happy with that, I put more abreeva on and went to bed. Thursday morning it felt good--no activity underneath, if you know what I mean--so I left the "cap" on it all day Thursday. Now it's 3:30 pm on Thursday, and I just had to take a look. I washed the cap off again and the damn thing has nearly completely healed! I put more abreeva back on and I am hoping I can go to work on Friday (I called off Wednesday and Thursday). So far so good. I will probably try the following next time. Ice, campho-phenique, and even toothpaste, but I'll have the Abreeva handy.   Tylenol and Aspirin Comments By: Ty Lenol I've tried everything.. but today I was told to try crushing up some tylenol.. then dip your finger in cold water.. rub some of the crushed tylenol onto your finger.. then apply onto cold sore.. let it sit on there for about 5 mins or until you feel it tingling. then remove with a cold wet cloth. worked wonders for me! good luck :p   try this.. Comments By: anon hey, i had cold sores all on my face.. but my parents were taking my swimming at a friends house.. and after i was done swimming, around 2-3 hours i noticed my cold sores were starting to go away! i ended up swimming till 3 in the morning and when i got home they were completely gone..   hopefully this works...:( Comments By: adam... I've had these growing up....and continue having them ...idk why but hopefully this works....   VERY IMPORTANT Comments By: eliam ive been gettin coldsores ever since grade school but never have they been this severe last night i had one and it was bothering me so i kept rubbing it no an behold this morning i woke up with 5 on my bottom lip!? dont touch your cold sore because it will spread like a wild fire anyways since i been gettin them for so long i been tryin so many different things i tried lysine abreva blistex there all pretty good but they wont work in just 1 or 2 days you have to be patient but i wanted to see where i could find a quick fix since i have so many i usually just get one but my lip looks like i freakin have herpes or some shit and i hate it i tried putting salt on it but it seemed to make it dry out but then get a little worse later on so now im tryin tha toothpaste thing and i gotta say its very soothing and feels good but its not burning but idk if that means its working or not... ill update.   Do not try match remidy!! Toothpaste works!! Comments By: Donnie my buddy tried the match remidy and he blew his lip up...to bad for him... but i tried the toothpaste remidy and it worked just fine   Salt on a wound Comments By: Vicki I've read through everyones story and it seems everyone has a different scenario. I would like to suggest not using salt but rather use a milder sea salt or saline powder (they sell packets of it for mixing with water and you can use it to cleanse your sinuses and often you get this after you have a piercing to help heal the wound). ALSO I would never use peroxide or toothpaste with peroxide on the sore since peroxide kills cells and good ones as well as bad ones. Making it even harder to heal. Alcohol will burn like no tomorrow and causes your lip to throb. So the saline and Abreva are what I'm sticking with   toothpaste does work on coldsores Comments By: melissa I just had to post regarding the toothpaste working on cold sores. I ended up getting a really bad head and chest cold from my neice. Ended up getting really bad cold sores on my lips. I have not even wanted to go out in public. Went online and someone had said to try using toothpaste and so I decided to try it. I couldn't believe it actually started to work and actually dried up the cold sores and actually my cold sores are starting to heal now. Who would have thought??? Thank God for toothpaste..it really does work.   I HATE COLDSORES Comments By: Roxy The last time, and only other time, I had a cold sore, like 5 of them appeared and it was so bad I had to be put on medication. This time when I felt one coming, I was freaking out. Sure enough, the little stupid thing popped up. I don't have money or insurance right now, so I put perfume and toothpaste on it right away. Iced it too of course. It's only been 12 hours and I can already see it going down. Sure, medication would be better, but for those of you like me who don't have that luxury, this works!!!   Bring swelling down weaking Lip then use salt Comments By: Keepsie ive been having cold sores since i was 10. Im 19 this is what i did. I get a cup put salt and baking soda in it and water half way, then microwave 3 mins then i take the cup out put my mouth over it breath to let steam work. steam soften lips and if ur is swelling it brings it WAY down after like 4 times i then put salt on my lip for 15 mins then take it off, steam it again then sleep.:)   It actually does work Comments By: ihatecoldsores Sunday evening when going to bed I got that familiar tingling sensation. Thursday I woke up with redness and swelling on my upper life. I was depressed like hell and out of Lysine, which usually stops my cold sores in their tracks before breaking out. A coworker suggested toothpaste so I googled and gave it a shot. I wore it before bed and woke up with some redness still there but the cold sore was coming to a head(a white spot/puss etc)..Friday was miserable as I tried to hide my face the entire day.... I kept the toothpaste on at night again and periodically wore it during the days on the weekend. The cold sore crusted and peeled off sunday afternoon. This is some dry spots on and around my lip but the sore is gone!!! Amazing, it wasn't an overnight solution as it took a couple days but it worked. I just got my Lysine in the mail today so now Im going to make sure I'm never caught without it ever again but if I am I know that toothpaste is another quick and easy solution   Try this Comments By: E man I recently had a outbreak of cold sores, and this got rid of them super fast. Materials: Needle Rubbing Alcohol Cotton balls Steps: 1) Heat up the needle to sterilize it. 2) Wipe down the infected area include the sore with a cotton ball with alcohol on it. 3) Take another cotton ball and prep it with alcohol. It HAS to be a new cotton ball every time. 4) Puncture the sore so that the liquids start oozing out, and then quickly wipe up all the liquids with the cotton ball. ***If you puncture it more then once. Make sure to clean it off before you puncture again. Because the liquids are on the needle, and you will just be putting them there again*** 5) Clean it up once more with a NEW cotton ball with alcohol on it. 6) Pour a little bit of alcohol in the bottles cap, and pour it on the sore. 7) Wipe the sore every 2-3 hours with a cotton ball with alcohol.   I believe its working:) Comments By: HelloDarling;) I just put the toothpaste and salt on, and the swelling has already gone down in the past 7minutes. It also feels refreshing and like its working. I am going to surprise my boyfriend tomorrow for his birthday so i hope it goes away by tomorrow morning!! wish me luck! :)   Here it goes... Comments By: Erin this morning i woke up with a little cold sore on my lip so right away i put toothpaste on it ( the toothpaste i used was not the white kind) it seemed to help for a few hours...i dont wanna go to school on monday and have my boyfriend see me with this ugly thing on my lip now i put sea salt on it... im gonna try sleeping with the salt on my lip and i hope when i wake up it will get smaller or not look as gross.....i have never uesd sea salt on it before and it kinda burns..idk if thats good or bad.... wish me luck!!!!!!!   everyone responds differently Comments By: Beck I have had cold sores my entire life (shared a bottle with the wrong kid at day care and was nice and shared the virus with my sister). I got the outbreaks a few times a year.....shes had maybe 3 her entire life. I have PTSD, a compromised immune system, and was hit by a car yesterday not long after learning my bf was close to leaving me after 2 years. I started using abreva and it worked miracles but lost its effectiveness. I am trying the toothpaste thing. I have always applied ice which does nothing but slow the development (this is a biological thing as it slows the flow of liquid but does not stop it). I have tried puncturing it which does get rid of the bubble but not the infection and the scabs last longer. Recently I picked up a Lysine topical treatment with honey and zinc oxide and other crucial elements. This worked extremely well but again it lost some effectiveness. I still use the Lysine but with less luck. The simple fact is that each person responds differently to different treatments...AND each individual cold sore on the same person responds to treatments differently. -I am guessing this might have something to do with the cause of the individual sore. Eventually there will be a FDA and medically proven treatment that prevents them all together and we can possibly even eliminate the HSV all together. Unfortunately because it is not a life threatening virus, it is not on the top of the list of things to do. We just have to be patient and remember that the virus is systemic, it WILL stay there (for now). AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THAT EVERY PERSON AND EVERY SORE IS UNIQUE TO TREATMENTS.   Horribe Horrible Cold Sores Comments By: Ashleigh hey everyone i'm in grade 8 and me and my mum get cold sores alot (whihc sucks) we have tried everything.. cold sore treatments don't seem to work for us, but we apply ice and that seems to work. i have school tomorrow and definately aren't going if this thing hasn't gone. i have been putting ice on it for hours then thought i'd research so now im sitting here with toothpaste on my lip and yes i too am getting the tingling feeling and it feels like it is working (well i hope so) wish me luck!   Cold sores Comments By: Ty Hi my name is Ty and today ( 20/10/09 )i woke up with a cold sore on my upper lip and one just on the rim of my left nostole. Even though i am only a 13 year old boy i still care how i look because im tyrying to impress girls and cold sores do not pick up chicks...lol and today ive just tried the toothpaste and salt thing...its been on 4 about 10 mins and its burning!! that must mean its working i think....im wait for results and will leave another comment, :) with me luck!   IT FREAKIN WORKS! Comments By: Sarah. so, i've had this cols sore for almost a week now. i didn't think there was any type of cure at first. so, of course, i HAD to use google. it brought me here. i tried the toothpaste and salt thing, i left it on for about ten minutes, and even though the infected area is still a little red, it's almost gone! i'm so happy. my birthday is in 4 days, and my boyfriend and i have plans, if you know what i mean ;] anyways, i highly recommend you try this treatment(:   THIS WORKS! Comments By: Jacob Okay, so this is my first time trying the "Toothpaste and salt" method, and it is burning and i can feel it penetrating the sore! I hope I will wake up in the morning and it will be gone! :D   Please work ! Comments By: Melissa Am Going out for halloween on sat at the dancing wantin to look good in ma sailors outfit and 3 horrible coldsores appeared on am face yesterday a put zovirax on bt it seems to make them worse. So I am Putting the toothpaste n salt thing on its burning bt a hope it wrks !!!   If there is a God... Comments By: G Please make this thing go away! I just put toothpaste on it and I indeed feel the tingling. I really couldn't care less what it feels like I just want it to LEAVE! Why are we the lucky ones who have been chosen to suffer like this? I think I would have rather broken my leg then wake up with a fever blister!!   BELIEVE IT OR NOT... EAR WAX!!! Comments By: Joe Blow I know this sounds strange but I'm telling you, use Ear Wax on a cold sore. It really works! I've read/heard that it has to be your own ear wax though (like you would use someone else's). When I would feel one coming, or even a day after the cold sore came, ear wax would still heal it, Quickly! Google it if you don't believe me.   toothpaste,salt,carbomide peroxide and eucalyptus oils is best Comments By: Alex UK I have been having cold sores for years now and after many experiments and potions i came up with one all you do is mix a bit of toothpaste with lots of salt and carbomide peroxide along with 2 drops of eucalyptus oil into a thick paste and place it over the sore i guarantee it will be gone the next day,Carbomide peroxide is simply the stuff the dentist whitens your teeth with which can be bought on ebay,Good luck   TOOTH PASTE WORKS! Comments By: ex-cold sore posterboy Out of desperation I once tried toothpaste for a cold sore...ever since it always works and fast !   TOOTH PASTE WORKS! Comments By: ex-cold sore posterboy Out of desperation I once tried toothpaste for a cold sore...ever since it always works and fast !   Fantastic! Comments By: Anon No matter when you put the toothpaste and salt on, it will always make the cold sore heal up. I've had cold sores my entire life, and this is the only solution I've ever come across.   response to craig Comments By: V That logic that toothpaste can't possibly work because then pharmaceutical companies would be making billions already is wrong. A ton of home remedies work, and pharmaceutical companies can't make a profit b/c it is already a mainstream product, and they can't put a patent on it.   right now Comments By: Hannah i have just put the toothpast on my cold sore and it feels really nice and soothing. i hope my coldsore goes down maybe by tomorrow or soon, :@ but i'm hopeful this will work !:)   I'll try tonight! Comments By: Milly Okay so its 02/12/09 and i'm meeting my boyfriend on saturday! I havnt seen him in ages and i was sooo excited....BUTTTT....ON YESTERDAY I GOT A COLD SORE =[ I've tried Penicillin but it doesnt seem do be doing much. I just wake up with the powder stuck to mi lips O_O So, i'm at school now. Hopefully when i get home and try the toothpaste thing out it will work!!! i have 2-3 daysss MAX.   It works! Comments By: kimberly Hey everyone - I noticed no one really posts after all is said and done. Here's what I did: Day 1 1. Poked a tiny hole in the little blisters to drain with a sterilized needle(small hole so it won't damage skin). I dabbed it with toilet paper to soak up the clear stuff. (gross I know) 2. Put the salt/water paste, and when the water dried up I dipped my finger in water and kind of touched the sore so the salty water would get in there better 3. Put toothpaste on it overnight (this whole thing happened just at night so my treatment was only a couple of hours) Day 2 -The sore was gone, the only thing there was a little yellow scab 4. I already had Abreeva so I put some of that on it. Day 3 It looks basically healed, its a bit rough to the touch but you can't tell it was a cold sore. It sort of just looks like dry skin/irritation Hope it works out for everyone else!   ahhhhh Comments By: natasha i have 5 coldsores and another one just broke out in the last hour ! ouchh, i have toothpaste and salt on them now but only the ones that broke are burning .. i find abreva works and also i used peroxide andd nailpolish remover and they are almost gone but becarefuL they spreaddddd soo easy :(   ice, rubbing alcohol, & toothpaste! Comments By: Jes I've been getting these suckers forever! Abreva used to work for me, but not anymore. Now when I feel the tingle I put toothpaste on it & it's usually gone by morning. If I don't catch it in time I will use ice to take down the swelling, then rubbing alcohol, & then toothpaste. I've been using this remedy for 3 years now & it's the only thing that works for me :)   How long... Comments By: Ryou How long do you leave it on? o.O   MY TOOTHPASTE EXPERIENCE Comments By: bridget Ok so its almost new years (happy new years in advance 2010). and i dont want to miss out on the fun due to my coldsore so i got desperate, checking the net for coldsore remedies and solutions etc. iv had it for 3 days now, it seemed pretty small but im worried it wont fully heal in the next 4 days. 1st day (half) it was jus a small blister and i wasnt even sure if it turn into a coldsore (later half that day) it turn into a coldsore . 2nd day it got the white puss stuff and had babies While i was eating a sandwhich it popped and i squeezed the puss out. im not sure if the babies where alrdy that big before hand or if while i pushed puss out and absorbed it into tissues the pressure made the babies grew bigger. anyway today is the 3rd day. around 9pm. i put a little bit of toothpaste on it (dabbed a little amount right on the coldsores head using the end of my toothbrush, i alawys chuck away my toothbrush after having a coldsore anyway). the toothpaste got some reaction feeling. not too sure how to describe it. a sort of cool but itch feeling. the toothpaste melted within seconds. so i dabbed it off using a cotton tip. im not sure why maybe due to the toothpaste or because the cotton tip is hard but a bit of the coldsore fell off. like peeled away. my 3 day coldsore was still in the blister stage (soft bubbles , blisters with puss) but after i removed the toothpaste it was a deflated yellow skin scab looking thingl like as if it was in the scab stage but has been wet. i put some more toothpaste on it now, im removing the toothpaste after it melts because the feeling changes to an itch which im assuming is not so good. i try to make sure that the toothpaste is ONLY put on the coldsore (not to make mess, im afraid it may spread). and that when i remove it i do it very carefully, so as not to spread it. keep it clean. this time i will try to remove the melted toothpaste with tissue instead of cotton tip. it was messy and hard trying to remove the toothpaste with tissue. had to do it lots of times, gently dabbing. and not all of it can be taken off. because some stay in the coldsore cracks and also because a bit fell off before i dont want any scarring damage. im not really sure if the toothpaste did any positive to it but it is defiantly less noticeable now, it has become flat. and the white puss being removed. its all a flat pink colour. so from a distance not very noticeable (my this coldsore is smaller then some past GIANT-medium ones. its about the size of a 2d pea)and on my upper lip im going to leave it for a while to see what happens with it with natural healing process for a while. ill post comment again what happen. i put the toothpaste on x2 in liek 10 min time (including clean time). ----------------------------------------- in the past when dealing with coldsore i always try to be careful when brushing my teeth (avoiding the area where the coldsore is at, which is kind of gross but after its gone i THOROUGHLY brush that missed out area. and when showing i try to avoid getting the coldsore wet (altho its a bit hard bcoz of steam also moistens it) then i gently dab it with tissue if it got wet. and wipe away mess from around it. i try to eat any foods that require minimal opening of the mouth and i dont like to stretch my lips too much with laugh, yawn or smile too much. although sometimes this cannot be avoided. if the coldsore is at the dry scab stage and u open ur mouth too wide there is risk of it crack open and bleed (really hurt). some people moisten it a bit to avoid it crack but i prefer always keep dry and clean and encourage it healing by avoiding things that can disturb healing process. i guess from my experience this has worked for me but everyone is different, so need to find what works for u. ---------------------------------------- iv tried all those expensive creams that promise to get rid of coldsore but none have worked for me. they in fact make it worse. when i used them they just paused the healing process, the coldsore stayed in the blister stage for 2-3 weeks. which usually for me its a blister upto 5-8 days then turns into scab. ---------------------------------------- when i was young i use to just randomly get coldsores once 1-3 years. but now in my late teens its much different, im a different person who thinks differently and may do some stupid things. my case is i get coldsore if i havent, ate or slept for more then 3-4 days (thats my limit then i know im going to be in trouble) if ive had high stress and anxiety recently for more than 2-3 days+. if iv had a fever/flu or cold either it being a really bad case or i had something ontop of that such as i was stressed and sick then also = coldsore. stress from anything causes it for me, stress from work, study, family, friends or relationships. i think best thing is keep immune system strong. try to eat well, keep fit (mentally and phsyically). because we all know once we got coldsore its sooo torture sucks... i fkn feel sad and hate it. dont even want to go outside.   the original colgate is a winner! Comments By: staceylee hey guys, i have been haveing coldsores since a very young age, very sore very irritateing and nasty... recently i developed a new coldsore, getting very aggitated with it i cold not stop touching it or fiddleing with it WHICH by the way is the WORST possible thing to do, so my nan tells me go in the bathroom and try aa little bit of colgate on it maybe it will help, i mean i heard that the was an old tale or what have you, but though what the heck lets try it.. anything that may have the chance of helping is worth it! so i used some original white colgate, not the colgate involveing the gell just the original one. my result was excellent!swelling went down veeeeeeery fast! and within 3/4 days my coldsore was allmost visable.. its easy faster and a very good money saver! good luck   MY TOOTHPASTE EXPERIENCE- continued Comments By: bridget so its been 2 days since i put the toothpaste on my coldsore. im not sure if it was due to the toothpaste or wat but it turned hard after a few hours and was flattened after putting on the toothpaste. it was in the puss blister stage those 2 days beforehand and it didnt look like it would of turned into the scab healing stage within those 10 hrs on its own if i didnt put toothpaste on it. so im quite sure the faster healing result is due to the toothpaste. i reccommend trying it out jus to see if it works for u.   my fellow cold sore sufferers Comments By: mike So as a cold sore sufferer for my whole life I know how bad they suck. I used to get them all the time but my body is slowly growing out of them. I have found a great technique that works for me and hopefully for you. As soon as you wake up and feel it coming ice it right away. Then proceed to take 1000 MG of L-Lysine (you can find this at a local GNC for around $12) Take the lysine three different times through out the day at 500-1000 MG of it. Then take toothpaste and salt mix it together and apply it on the cold sore(s) leave it on until it drys then wash it off and put on a cream such as neo sporin. Before you go to bed put the tooth paste and salt back on the cold sore(s). Wake up and repeat the process. Depending on how big they are the cold sores should start to heal within 2- 3 days and the scabs should be gone within the 4-5 day. Goo d luck!   Unlucky Comments By: Andrew So I put the tooth paste round my mouth...and IT BURNED!!! Stopped the pain of the coldsore for about 10 mins but now that horrible tingle has come back :( But it somehow doesn't feel as bad as before so it might of worked a bit. Not sure on this one. But it definetly hurts when you first put the toothpaste on it!!!   ToothPaste! Comments By: Dominic 5 mins ago I tried the nail polish remover and it didn't appear to be working for me so i put on some toothpaste and it's been on a couple of mins now and it is cooling and tingling toothpaste ftw!   Dam Comments By: OB Wish i saw this earlier. next time I'll use toothpaste but right now im using salt. I hope this is just as affective   Toothpast and salt Comments By: Kayla OWWW gawwd my cold sore hurts like a bitch! its obv not working for me,,,   my mother licks them and says it works Comments By: we're only Human Just keep your tongue on it a lot, ha. looks silly, i bet. She uesed to give us kisses when we were young and she had cold sores, so I'll say she did it to me. ha. I put toothpaste on mine, and then googled it. hopeing i did the right thing. I think the old tube of myHeala is expired or something. Whatever, shouldn't stress out about it. At least i can stay home(van is broke down, anyways.) I remember in HS, i felt like a Herpe infected person. It's a different type of herpes, anyways, different than what you can get down there, which I never came across, thank goodness. Maybe being pregnant is stressing me out, or maybe the lack of excercise I'm getting lately. It is Winter and I do have 9 kids ha. Some of the Seniors need to work on communicating with their words, It was a long read to the bottom. Take care.   burning so far ! Comments By: Hannah i read everyones comment to see if it actually works , and i put some on and it is burning . is this normal ?   Reality read this Comments By: biotch hunter I beg to differ about your comment regarding toothpaste not working and the pharmacueticals snapping it up if it did. They wouldn't even go there. Toothpaste is basically an inexpensive over the counter privilege already allowed the consumer that the big drug companies have no control over. The toothpaste treatment, if proven viable, would knock all their more expensive treatments, like Abreva, out of the ballpark. Since there is probably no way they could harness the existing resource and make us pay way more than what we already do, they would probably not do any studies in that direction. BTW--I am 53, just tried a toothpaste remedy I pulled up online last night, using lemon extract instead of alcohol before applying the toothpaste.The extract is more soothing on my lips than the alcohol yet has the same drying properties. At any rate-- I can see an accelerated scabbing process and am thinking one more night and it will be advanced about 5 days over the time it normally takes it to heal. I plan on following up the treatments with plain old chapstick to fight any dryness from the extract and toothpaste treatments. I learned a long time ago--home made remedies can sometimes trump what is available in the drugstore. For instance--last year I had a run in with poison oak. I tried everything to get rid of it and the itching. I had relied on Technu to clean it off in the beginning and apparently, I did not put enough gallons of it on after the exposure(and I washed about 2hrs after contact, so that part is bogus, too), because I ended up with a horrid case. I ended up taking the advice of a forestry employee who is out in it all day. He said to prevent future episodes if I know I am going to be around the plant,about two weeks before--get a box of pectin (the type used for fruit canning) and mix about 2 tblsns into 8oz of OJ and drink every day until the box is empty. He said he has done this for years and can now actually pull the plant right out of the ground and not be affected. Since I already had a bad case of it, he told me to use a cold water salt scrub with dawn dishwashing liquid.I made a paste by pouring the dawn over the blisters and then adding the salt over the top and scrubbing it in with the water running the whole time over my arm where the blisters were. It does sting,but afterward, the itching is totally gone. He said to be sure to get all the soap off and then pat the area dry and make sure it is dry. Do not rub--pat dry. My poison oak, which had formed massive blisters and itched like crazy, was immediately relieved of itchiness and dried up and gone in about half the time it normally takes. So--what I am trying to say here is--don't discount wives tales and homemade remedies in favor of what is being invented strictly to pad the already bulging pockets of pharmacuetical companies. I definitely don't think they have all the answers and maybe they really don't want to. If they found a way to prevent cold sores, what would they sell us besides that one thing? This way, they can sell us all sorts of things that don't work. Do approach any home treatment, like the ones I listed above, with extreme caution. I would patch test anything I was putting on my skin. People can be highly allergic to just about anything.   this actuallly works, white toothpaste. Comments By: ricardo yesterday(now 2 days ago) i had my first ever coldsore, it was big and white, disgusting. my mum said use toothpaste, and i applyed some AIM original flavour white toothpaste on it and left it all day and night and, woke up and then i washed it and it came off, i was amazed.barely noticible now, try it it works. i guaranteed.   Toothpaste does not work. Comments By: elif I tryed toothpaste and salt before i slept but this morning when woke up it didnt heal. :(. Am going to try blistex cream, Which helped my aunty. So i hope it workes.   toothpaste numbs it! Comments By: SEBBY i put crest on it and i can feel the numbing already!   tooth paste and HOW Comments By: Morgan Keep in mind every remedy won't work for every person because we are all different. I get cold sores once every 3-6 months and normally they last for 5 days.. the first sign of a cold sore i put toothpaste on my lip (like lip balm) and then a numbling liquid (so i dont feel pain) before bed.. i got a cold sore yesterday morning and it is literally non existant at this time, no pain no scab no nothing. good luck!   it works well Comments By: samm :]]] I've had my cold sore for about a week. I woke up to the nasty tingling feeling and i bit down on my lip in hope that it was a pimple and biting it would pop it to relieve the pain. but it only got worse. it is huge and open, the skin is trying to heal over it but keeps pealing off and giving me more pain as a result. i put the toothpaste on about 20 minutes to a half an hour ago. my mom told me its a good solution and i'm suprised at how much it has dried up. thanks for the help!   omg !! Comments By: Rosiee ohhh my god !! i put thee toothpast on it O: wow it burnss >.< likee badd !! i got it result of using my pals lippy , NEVERR AGAINN !! i hatee these thingss >:( why mee ?? grrrrrrr >:( >:( >:(   Its UGLY Comments By: Can. Woke up this morning with a a small red spot and a small blister in the middle of it. I immediately tried the Bleach and wet Qtip trick whom some people rave about, That DID NOT Work. The blister popped but more developed and they're now double the size if not triple I've tried all sorts of topical solutions in the past including abreva but they Dont seem to work for me. I'm now using the Salt paste technique, it burns, tingles and my lip is pulsing. I don't know if its actually doing something to make it better or if its getting worst. After this 1st salt treatment, I"m going to try it again with Epson Salt... I'll keep you posted.