Battling Cold Sores with HERPOtherm – AD

I was really excited when HERPOtherm got in touch about their electric cold sore treatment. I always get really bad cold sores every year, usually as a result of feeling really run down. I’ve tried all kinds of products and old wives tales to keep cold sores under control, but as soon as my lips get really dry and split, I know that a cold sore will be inevitable. I hate it when I get a cold sore; it ruins my makeup, I have to draw my lips on ridiculously big and spend ages sanitizing my brushes and my products. Not only that, but anybody who has ever had a cold sore will tell you that you feel like it’s huge, and everybody is staring at you no matter how well you manage to cover it – so it totally damages my selfie game. The worst thing about treating a cold sore is having to sit there with creams or patches on your face, which draw attention to it and leave you feeling really uncomfortable. 

What is a Cold Sore?

First thing’s first – you might not even know what to look out for in a cold sore! The fancy name for a cold sore is herpes simplex virus 1, but what that actually means is that it is a common form of the herpes virus – so common, in fact, that 90% of the population of Europe carries the virus! Even though so many people carry the virus, only 30% of carriers actually have cold sores, which are blisters that appear around your lips. Cold sores are uncomfortable, often tingling or burning, and they can appear when you have a lower immune system such as when you’ve got a cold – hence the name! – or going through stress, or even around the time of your period. As if that didn’t sound bad enough, cold sores can last for around 10 days at a time and can weep, causing it to crack whenever you smile. 

Stopping Cold Sores in Their Tracks

A week and a half without smiling is definitely not an option, this is where HERPOtherm comes in. It can stop a cold sore in its tracks, quick and without nasty chemicals. This is a chemical-free medical device that looks like a lipstick and can be used to apply heat to the area as soon as you feel the first tingle, and hopefully stop the cold sore from forming. If you’ve already got a cold sore, HERPOtherm is also great because it can lessen the severity of the blister by up to 50% – so you’ll be back to your usual smile much more quickly! I was a little bit sceptical about how heat would stop me even getting a cold sore once I’ve already felt the tingle that means a blister is on its way, but this heats to a whopping 51 degrees which, when concentrated on the affected area, kills the virus while it is still underneath the skin, and even influences the secretion of histamine to reduce inflammation on your face. Because it has no chemicals, it is able to be used by pregnant people, children, and those who suffer from allergies. 

How Do I Use HERPOtherm?

I was so impressed with how easy HERPOtherm is to use. Creams can be difficult to use because they get messy, and you have to sit there for a while as it soaks into your skin, but HERPOtherm was instant. Simply hold your HERPOtherm up to the affected area, making sure there are no air gaps, and let it apply heat! You can do it repeatedly, provided that you leave two minutes between treatments, and do not use it in the same area more than five times in one hour. I did find that I had a small red mark after use, but it went away so quickly that by the time I applied my lipstick I was photo-ready once again. 

Is It Better Than a Cream? 

Although working from home means I can sit there with a dollop of cream on my lips all day, I am not a fan of cold sore creams. I’ve tried so many and they take so long to work, they just get in the way and can be easily rubbed off. HERPOtherm is a bit more expensive than a cream, but it can be used hundreds of times, which makes it much more cost-effective – and of course, it produces a lot less waste. I tend to get cold sores once or twice a year, which means I never get through an entire bottle of product and end up having to bin it. Because it looks like a lipstick, it is much prettier to carry around than a little tube of cold sore cream, and you know it isn’t going to leak in your handbag or go out of date. 

HERPOtherm is available on Amazon Prime, which is great when you have a big occasion or an event and need to stop a cold sore in its tracks. It’s currently reduced to £31 on Amazon until 20th March, so you’ve got a couple of weeks to grab yours before it returns to its original cost of £36.

Have you tried HERPOtherm? Let me know what you think of it in the comments – and if you buy one on Amazon and leave a review, let me know so I can go and see what you thought!