The Harvard Medical School has reported results of a cold sore study, indicating that a duel approach to cold sore treatment has been proved the most successful. Trials compared the effectiveness of pills alone, vs. a topical gel plus anti-viral pill. The trials were done on cold sore sufferers known to experience outbreaks when exposed to excessive sunlight. In the trials, both groups were exposed to artificial sunlight. For people in both groups, the treatments were given as a preventative measure, assuming that since these individuals usually suffered cold sores with sun exposure, they would be likely to get them in the experiment.
One group was given the double whammy- the corticosteroid gel called fluocinonide was applied to cold sores, and they took the antiviral pill called famciclovir. The other group was given only the famciclovir pills. In the group that received the double whammy, approximately 50% suffered fully developed cold sores. In the group that took only the pill, about 92% got full blown cold sores. And the people in the duel approach group who did get full size cold sores, experienced less pain than the other group. Further, the sores suffered by the duel approach group were smaller than the sores suffered in the pill-only-group, and they healed faster. “Healing” was defined as: the skin returning to a normal condition, without any significant discomfort.
The administrators of the study advised that while the topical gel worked well in combination with the anti-viral pill, it might not be safe to use every time a person felt at risk of, or was experiencing an outbreak. It was thought that continual use of corticosteroid gel might cause harmful thinning of the skin, or potentially permanent damage.
If you suffer cold sores and would like to find a better treatment method, try this method and see if it brings you relief, but watch the skin carefully; If you see signs of thinning, or a change in consistency of the skin between outbreaks, stop using the gel and check with your doctor.
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