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Cold sores. Vick's Vaporub for a cold sore

At the first tingling sign of a cold sore/fever blister I rub in Vick's several times a day. This usually prevents further development of the blister. I use the salve at night before bedtime and hardly ever get those dreadful sores. I used to have them too much before using the salve.

Visitors comments

does it work? Comments By: Andy on 2006-09-19 I am trying this vicks thing right now, I've never had a cold sore before. I had a fever yesterday and now im getting a fever blister and i wanted to know if this really works.   Here-here Comments By: Carmen on 2006-12-13 I used to get CS very often - but now i make a point of getting enuf rest, water, veggies and exercise - also avoiding over-exposure to the sun. But when they the tingling does start, i apply vicks vapour rub and take a disprin/pain killer it disappears within a few hours   Works great Comments By: Amber on 2008-04-18 Vicks really does work, i never thought about using it before this last blister.... prom is in 2 days (from now) and about 2 days ago i started gettiong one, though i still have it i just started puttiong the vicks on last night but there is already a huge difference...   doesn't work Comments By: Lulu on 2008-04-18 I use Vick's vaporub instead of lip balm everyday. I still get fever blisters and they last forever   Works wonders Comments By: Jamie on 2008-04-25 I can't believe how great this works. I still get the blister but it's a lot smaller. Recently, I wasn't able to catch it at the tingle, and I got a huge blister. It's only been 4 days and it's almost gone!   I thought I was the only one Comments By: Maya on 2009-01-08 I only get occasional cold sores - maybe one per year - but I stumbled on to this trick a few years ago and it really does seem to help keep the sore under control. My evidence is completely anecdotal, of course, but catching an outbreak early (during the "tingle" stage) and applying the vaporub seems to make the length of the outbreak shorter, and the symptoms more mild. Or, if you've got a fully-blown cold sore, you can put it on and it will tingle a LOT but it seems to also make things heal faster.   Works! Comments By: Lisa on 2009-04-02 Totally works, and I stumbled upon it by accident. I notices that one of my regular lip balms sort of smelled a bit like vicks, and I compared ingredients. Lo and behold, vicks is just a stronger version of my lip medex.   IT IS AWESOME Comments By: Olivia on 2009-07-26 I have had a really bad cold sore for the last 3 days and have put vicks on it last night and it has gone down overnight by more than half the size!   Miracle worker Comments By: Beth on 2010-02-23 I used to get really bad coldsores. Huge, gruesome blisters that made me feel so disgusting that I actually skipped school sometimes. In desperation, I tried every remedy I found on the internet - even the earwax one! The Vicks one is the only one that's worked for me, though. I used to get these massive blisters once or twice a year, but since starting to use Vicks six years, I haven't had a visible one since. I never really minded the scabs - it was the blisters I hated, and Vicks dries them out quickly, before they become visible. I haven't even had a visible scab since, the blister seems to just dry into nothing. I just rub it on the coldsore several times a day.   Vicks or Tea tree oil Comments By: Anonymous on 2010-05-06 If you get regular cold sores from Herpes, Vicks is probably your best bet or campho- phenique. If you get them from Impetigo ,which is a skin infection caused by germs from your nose, try Tea Tree oil. It is the best natural antiseptic for the germs that cause that particular infection.   Vicks works wonders! Comments By: Anon on 2010-06-27 Vicks works wonders! I don't get cold sores often but when I do they are huge ugly mutants!! An ex put me onto Vicks and now if I ever get one I use it straight away and it stops the cold sore in its tracks!   Unbelievable Comments By: MarinaDelReyDad on 2010-08-27 I waited all day to do this as I was nervous but couldn't take the pain any longer, I did it and boom instant relief..I cant believe it....Thank you so much....I had 5 of them, YAY!!!   So Far So Good. Comments By: Linda on 2010-09-28 I have had this cold sore since Sunday ...I have never gotten one b4 and omg I must say OUCH! I just started applying the vicks and so far it does take away the pain however I h8 that onces its soaked in I get surges on pain that gave me a total headache. We will see if it works with the healing process of this beast. Wish me luck   Vicks is amazing! Comments By: Shelly on 2010-10-13 I have been breaking out terribly bad and I new it wasn't just any ordinary break out. It has lasted 2 weeks and it didn't seem to look like it was going to heal anytime soon. I've tried numerous lotions and face washes but last night i got fed up and thought maybe Vicks would help. I figured it couldn't make matters much worse... Well it made a huge difference in the appearance of my problem...   WOW!!! IT ACTUALLY WORKS Comments By: Keisha on 2010-12-15 I tried it with no expectations so as not to be disappointed...but I was in for a surprise. I applied the vicks the same day the bump appeared and again before i went to bed, when I got up the next morning it was already less visible. I could not believe it.   Vicks relieves the pain! Comments By: lipplumper on 2010-12-15 I have used Vicks often on coldsores & used to get them frequently. This time, I had blistered all around my lips by sitting too close to a fire, they got all chappy &, well, if you get them, you know the story... only this time was worse than ever before. Full lip action! It looked like I had had injections for plump my lips! I've been upping my intake of lysine and have tried topical treatments of yogurt, butter & honey. But I went back to Vicks & had instant relief! You just need to carry it with you and don't put the "germy" finger back into the little container, you could "infect" the rest of the balm. :)   Finally something that works!!!!! Comments By: Leigh on 2011-01-08 3 days ago I felt two fever blisters coming out ,and I was so upset because I have big plans for tonight. The last thing you want is to be walking around with gross blisters on your lips! Anyway, I was looking up remedies online and I came across this website. I noticed so many people saying Vicks vapor rub worked so I tried it! Let me remind you that I have tried EVERYTHING in the past and nothing has worked...I could not believe how GREAT this worked for me!!! The blisters never got a crusty scab on them they just went down in swelling and are to the point that you can't even see them!!! The vicks took the pain away too! I highly suggest using this remedy along with some valtrex. Thank you everyone for your suggestions!!! You saved me from embarrassment!!! :)   Wow Comments By: Adam mediano on 2011-01-18 I haven't had a cold sore or fever blister for about a year. And then I get a new girlfriend and boom I get one big sucker right well I did this and within 4 days it's gone and during those four days I told her I was sick so she didn't know a think ha. The best thing to do is use salt and toothe paste on day 1 of the sore and then after it drys up put some lotion and some vicks on your scab and soon enough it's gone before 3 days   WOW IT WORKS! Comments By: Cara on 2011-02-04 Wow, I was skeptical at first, but now I wish I had known about this 10 years ago! I have been getting very bad cold sore break outs for many years, and it basically ruined my popularity in high school. They called me the herpes girl! Now that I am an adult, one of my colleagues told me about it and I am sooo happy to have found this treatment method. I hold a warm tea bag over the area as soon as I start getting one, then apply the vicks. It works wonders for me!