Cold Sore Products

In addition to prescription medications, there are lots of over-the-counter products that can be used to treat cold sores.  Here is a look at the most popular ones. 

Banadyn-3

Review: Banadyn-3 is a cream that dries up cold sores using a combination of benzocaine, menthol, and alcohol.  The product boasts that it "stops pain and itching on contact, prevents infection and speeds healing" and provides "maximum strength with no tannic acid."

Banadyn-3 is indeed a good way to fight cold sores.  However, it's important to use the cream as soon as the cold store starts to appear, or it won't work as well.  So use it as early as possible, and you'll be glad you did.

Abreva

Review: Abreva is the only over-the-counter cold sore medicine to use Docosanol, which they describe as "a unique patented active ingredient that helps protect healthy cells from the cold sore virus. As Abreva helps the healthy cells defend the cold sore virus, the virus has a difficult time infecting more and more cells. This means cold sores heal faster and symptoms don't last as long."  Abreva is also the only over-the-counter product that is FDA approved to treat cold sores.

Like some other cold sore products, Abreva should be used as soon as the cold sore starts to form, or else it won't do much to help.  The biggest downside is that it's often more expensive than other cold sore medicines.

Quantum DermaSeptic Skin Cure

Review:  This is a very unique product.  The Quantum DermaSeptic Skin Cure kit is designed to treat cold sore along with warts and herpes.  Instead of being a cream or gel like most cold sore products, the Quantum DermaSeptic kit is a battery run device that delivers anti-microbial silver ions to the affected area.  It uses a lithium battery that will last for years, though don't be worried about getting electrocuted, because it's a very low-voltage dose.

While the Quantum DermaSeptic Skin Cure is the flashiest and highest-tech way to treat cold sores, it won't be any more beneficial to most people that a conventional cream or gel, though it is much more expensive, and is sometimes sold at nearly $100.  So even though it works, it's probably better to stick to the cheaper alternatives.

Novitra Homeopathic Cold Sore Cream

Review:  One of the best products for fighting cold sores is Novitra's homeopathic cold sore cream.  It's the only such product to use zincum oxydatum as its active ingredient, which helps reduce symptoms while shortening duration of the sore, and it's clinically proven to help.  It should be used as soon as symptoms are present.

Novitra should be applied every 2 or 3 hours, which is a bit annoying, but since it works, it's worth it.  Also, Novitra is safe to use on children above 2 years of age. 

Zicam Cold Sore Gel Swabs

Review:  Zicam Cold Sore Gel Swabs are ready-to-use cotton swabs that contain Zincum Aceticum and Zincum Gluconicum as active ingredients, and they also come with menthol to soothe the pain.  When used at the beginning of an outbreak, Zicam will reduce the duration and severity of a cold sore. 

Since the medicine comes on swabs, this is one of the most convenient cold sore treatments available.  In addition, it is less likely that cold sores will be spread to someone else through this product, so long as you throw away the swabs after each use.  The downside is that Zicam comes at a higher price than some equally effective cold sore medicines, so you are paying for the convenience.

Zilactin-L

Review:  Zilactin-L is a fairly standard cold sore treatment.  It comes in a liquid form, which supposedly makes it easier to apply.  Like many other cold sore products, it should be applied as soon as you sense a cold sore is appearing. According to the manufacturer: "Apply it as soon as you feel that initial itching or tingling. Zilactin-L's penetrating formula speeds relief at a cold sore's earliest stage. And dries clear, so you don't have to feel self-conscious."

There is also a more powerful variety called Zilactin-L Maximum Strength, though it isn't much different.  Bother versions work, though they are less popular than most of the other cold sore treatments listed on this page.

Nexcare Cold Sore Treatment

Review:  This isn't one of the better products available to treat cold sores.  Instead of using an active ingredient that contains zinc, as most cold sore remedies do, Nexcare Cold Sore Treatment contains Benzocaine and Allantoin, along with Vitamin E & C, and tea tree oil.

If you look closely at the Nexcare box, you'll see that it promises to give "fast pain relief" and that it "softens unsightly scabs."  This is all well and good, but notice how it makes no claim to speed up the healing time.  Therefore, using Nexcare is better than nothing, but there are many far superior products to try.