Cold Sore Treatment 

for Hamburg, Eden, Lakeview & All of WNY

Caused by the herpes simplex virus, these nasty, painful, and embarrassing eruptions always seem to rear their ugly heads at the worst possible times. Cold sores typically last 7 to 21 days, usually appear on the skin of the face around the mouth and nose but can also occur inside the mouth and are potentially contagious to other people. Once you have become infected, you carry the virus forever as it hides out in the trigeminal nerve ganglion. Any form of stress or trauma (fever, sun exposure, wind exposure, localized trauma to the lips or face, etc.) in the future can provoke an unwanted reappearance of these blistering lesions. 

If you go to the drugstore, you will find over the counter remedies as numerous as the “cures for the common cold”, each with likely no more success than the cures for the cold. Several prescription medications have shown some promise, such as Acyclovir (Zovirax), Famciclovir (Famvir), Penciclovir (Denavir) and Valacyclovir (Valtrex), but they are expensive, come with side effects and do not produce an actual cure. They only shorten the duration of the lesion if you’re lucky, but not in all patients, and are less likely to help if not started in the first 24 hours. If you are looking for results, James M Blake D.D.S., PC offers an efficient cold sore treatment plan. Call our office today to schedule your appointment! Though we are located in Hamburg, we proudly provide service to patients throughout Blasdell, Eden, Lakeview, Orchard Park, and the surrounding areas.