Home Articles Health advice

A cold sore is often an inconvenient sore which is visible in most obvious places. It is a sore that appears near the mouth, the nose or on the lips. These sores ooze and hurt but eventually heal. The scabs take longer to go. These sores make people extremely conscious.

The trick to treating cold sores is to keep the area clean, apply salves to dry out the sores and not pick at the scabs. The last step is usually the hardest to do. Let's look at some tips to hide cold sore.

When you are trying to hide a cold sore, do bear in the mind that ideally the sore should be healed. The best way to hide a cold sore is with makeup. If it is a fresh sore, you are going to aggravate it by trying to hide it with makeup.

• To hide a cold sore, first clean the area with cold water and alcohol swabs or disinfectant.
• Now apply some lubricant on the sore to prevent the swab from cracking. You can use a Q-tip to apply unscented lip balm or petroleum jelly.
• Next, you can apply some liquid foundation on the same spot. Applying the foundation before applying the petroleum jelly might give a caked appearance. First the balm and then the foundation - that's the best way to cover up a cold sore.
• If the sore is on your lip, you can use a dark colored lipstick for hiding the sore.
• If you do use makeup, ensure that you don't contaminate the makeup. Use Q-tips wherever possible and dispose of them, once done.

If the sore is bothering you in terms of being itchy or pulling at skin, use some over-the-counter gels like Abreva before you start applying foundation. If you try and remove the scab, you will get a bigger sore in its place. You can try an ice pack to relieve the itch. Home remedies like peppermint oil, lemon balm or lavender oil can also sooth the itch and irritation.

Though sores can be unsightly, most doctors say that you should avoid using makeup to cover the sores. The virus causing cold sores tends to stay dormant or latent in the body. Every eruption should be allowed to heal completely so that the flare up does not occur because you tried to hide a sore with makeup.

Reference:

1. http://www.healthyhorns.utexas.edu/ht_coldsores.html
2. http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/student/health/pdf/C/Cold%20Sores.pdf

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.