Posts Tagged travel toiletries

I’ve been carrying around a small .5-oz bottle of Cold Sores Begone in my travel toiletries case since October of last year — just waiting for my husband or daughter to get that familiar “tingling” sensation on their lips so they could test this product firsthand (after all, at Practical Travel Gear we always test our products thoroughly for authentic reviews).

I suppose it’s great news that neither of them (surprisingly) came down with a bothersome cold sore throughout the winter months. My son and I, thankfully, are not prone to cold sores — those lip blisters caused by a herpes simplex virus that lies dormant until something triggers an eruption. But my daughter unfortunately inherited my husband’s proclivity to breaking out into a painful upper- or lower-lip sore after prolonged sun exposure. Stress also seems to be a cold-sore trigger for my husband. Sometimes both get them when they are also suffering from colds or flu.

They have traditionally used Abreva on their cold sores as soon as they feel one coming on; this over-the-counter product’s active ingredient is Docosanol, approved by the FDA to shorten the duration of a cold sore. The problem with this medicine is a) it’s expensive and b) it can upset my husband’s stomach.

So, with this latest round of cold sores my family experienced a couple weeks ago, we tried Cold Sores Begone.

Unfortunately, my daughter flipped out when I put it on her lip that was just starting to blister. I don’t think we caught it early enough (directions say to apply as soon as you feel the cold-sore-is-about-to-erupt tingle). She had an open sore and it stung.  A lot. So she wiped off the clear, gel-like formula and we went back to treating her cold sore with Abreva.

My husband caught his a little earlier, and reported a mild, tolerable stinging sensation on application — more so when the sore opened. He also said that he didn’t like the taste. (Though I stuck a little on my tongue and didn’t find it offensive at all.) He appreciated that he never got an upset stomach in the five or so days he religiously applied the Cold Sores Begone to his lower lip (up to five times a day, say the instructions).

He also reported that his cold sore went away sooner or in the same time as one normally does when he uses Abreva.

So, in essence, I’d say Cold Sores Begone works well to help heal cold sores if you catch the blister in its formative stages and you use the product regularly, despite a little stinging or funny taste.

Can you tell how I might have mistaken Cold Sores Begone (on left) for my contact lens rewetting drops?

The active ingredient in Cold Sores Begone is moisturizing allantonin, a skin protectant; other ingredients include aloe vera, lemon balm, cone flower and golden seal — all plant extracts known for their anti-viral properties.

One important note: The white bottle with a blue label looks nearly identical my Equate-brand lens rewetting drops. They are so similar, that I accidentally squeezed a few drops of Cold Sores Begone into both eyes when I mistook the two bottles while I was out of town — grabbing the wrong one out of my toiletry case. Talk about stinging sensation and flipping out!

When I realized I mistake, I simply flushed my eyes with cold water and eventually the redness dissipated. I had gel-like gunk coming out of my eyeballs for an hour or two, but otherwise suffered no long-term effects. Thank goodness the ingredients in this product are natural and herbal! I’ll continue to pack Cold Sores Begone in my travel bag — I’d like to try it on my daughter again, earlier the next time — but I’ll mark it, perhaps, with a black Sharpie, to avoid eye contact again.

Cold Sores Begone retails for $11 online for a .5-oz bottle, plus $2 in shipping.