Treating a cold sore quickly and correctly is essential to fast, permanent relief. By the time you finish reading this article, you will discover some clear, powerful and extremely effective ways for treating a cold sore.

Treating a cold sore is never fun. Cold sores seem to happen at the worst times. They are ugly, painful and a big inconvenience. And they can be difficult to treat, especially when you have a busy schedule.

Cold sores, fortunately, are created on the surface where you can treat them. If they were internal, as some diseases are, they would be life threatening.

Treating a cold sore successfully means you must adjust the treatment based on the stage of your symptoms.

Let us look at treating a cold sore one stage at a time.

1. Itching or tingling is the first sign of an pending outbreak. This tells you that the herpes simplex virus has come out of latency and has moved to the surface to replicate.

It replicates by entering the cells and forcing them to create clones of the virus.

A quick application of ice is most successful at this early stage. Put the ice in plastic zipper bags to avoid a mess - or just wrap in a towel.

The herpes virus cannot replicate when the area is cold. Often, in fact, you will either delay or prevent further development of your sore.

2. Once the virus actually enters the cells, swelling begins to occur. Cold application is still the best treatment at this stage. Apply for 15 minutes at a time. This always helps swelling, and does give a lot of comfort.

3. During the next stage, the open wound appears. This is because of the devastation of thousands of cells by the herpes virus. Ice no longer is the best treatment for your sore. Your wound is now in the healing stages.

Ice will still provide great comfort, and reduce swelling. But, unfortunately, it slows down the healing process by driving blood away from the area.

The most important part of treating a cold sore at this point is to keep the wound sterile.

You should cleanse the wound with peroxide or alcohol. You can get throw-away alcohol swabs from the diabetes section of your drug store. These are very handy. They can be carried in purse or pocket.

Applying a drug store product with a numbing agent, like Campho-Phenique, can greatly improve comfort without using ice.

4. Treating a cold sore, from this point on, calls for applying warmth as much as possible. This will speed healing by bringing more blood to the area.

Continue to keep the area sterile. Also, continue applying the comfort treatment (numbing agent) of your choice. Keep in mind that most all drug store cold sore treatments are for comfort and have not proven to speed healing.

APPLYING WARMTH. There are several ways to keep the sore warm. One way that works very well is using a damp, warm wash cloth. This can be heated up in the microwave. Be cautious not to burn yourself.

A better way of treating a cold sore is by the use of a warm tea bag. This not only provides healing warmth, but also applies some great anti-viral ingredients found in the tea plant.

WORD OF CAUTION. Your cold sores, and the herpes virus responsible for them, are very contagious. This is true not only for infecting others, but other spots on your body as well.

If you have seen folks with numerous cold sores around their mouth, these are likely spread from the original infection.

Spreading it to your eyes is especially dangerous. It can cause permanent vision damage.

While treating a cold sore, try not to contaminate your fingers by touching the area. Always clean your hands thoroughly after treatment.

Use cotton balls, swabs, or tissues to apply any liquids and for cleansing the sore. Use a hand sanitizing gel always when treating a cold sore.

In conclusion, keep in mind to apply cold when the sore is being created and heat during the healing phase. Continue to cleanse the wound and wash your hands often when treating a cold sore.