Yesterday I had a mom bring her 8 year old daughter into my office. She had been to an urgent care clinic the day before. The urgent care clinic told the mom that she needed to see a dentist and gave the child an antibiotic. I sat down and looked at this poor little girl and she has sores in her nose on her lips and chin and all over her gums. They looked like little pimples that she had popped and that they had crusted over. I know for those with a weak stomach this may be a little disgusting. But I immediately knew what it was. This poor girl had primary or acute herpetic gingivostomatitis. Basically that's a big word for a cold sore outbreak. It most commonly occurs when the kids are between 2 and 3, but can occur in adults as well.
I have learned over the years that when it comes to treating cold sores early treatment is the best way to go. The earlier you treat the shorter the duration. I love to prescribe a medication called Valtrex for patients with cold sores. It is an amazing drug. If you take the pills as soon as you know a cold sore is coming on most of the time the cold sore will not appear at all. If you get cold sores talk to your physician or dentist and get a prescription you can thank me later. I have also heard that taking the supplement L-Lysine will decrease the number of cold sores you get. Just two tips from a guy who deals with them on a regular basis.
That is all
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