Although cold sores don’t represent a serious health threat, they are a considerable annoyance for the millions of people around the world who they affect. Cold sores are painful fluid-filled blisters that are caused by the herpes simplex virus, and once a person has been exposed to the virus they are vulnerable to outbreaks for the rest of their lives.

The herpes simplex virus resides deep within the skin cells along the branches of the nervous system, and though some people never have a single outbreak, others have cold sores appear and reappear constantly. Medical science has searched for a cure for years, and there is a great deal of effort being put into the creation of a herpes simplex vaccine, but so far there has been no success.

People who suffer from cold sores search frantically for a solution, but so far the only success has been with finding remedies that can either gird the immune system so that you have fewer breakouts or that shorten the amount of time that the cold sore lesions are evident. One therapy that has proven to be successful has been the use of a homeopathic medication, Zicam.

Zicam Ingredients List

Zicam has been getting a great deal of positive attention as a cold sore treatment. The company originally released a rapid melt lozenge whose active ingredient was zinc in order to reduce the impact of the common cold. As studies were done on the efficacy of zinc, and exactly how it impacts the virus, its producers realized that there were more applications then simply stopping people from sneezing and coughing.

Zinc has long been known to boost the immune system, so the manufacturer came up with a different application specifically for cold sores. The product that they created was called Zicam Cold Sore Gel Swabs, and the active ingredient was zinc glutonate.

The packaging included ten swabs preloaded with the medication, and users would break each swab’s plastic tubing open and apply the solution directly to the affected area for several days or until the cold sore had completely disappeared.

Users reviewed the product as remarkably effective at minimizing the appearance and pain caused by the cold sore and said that it made them go away much faster. Unfortunately, another Zicam product that was also delivered via a swab was accused of causing a condition called anosmia that inhibits the sense of smell, and Zicam discontinued use of all of its swab products.

Although there are still some packages of the product available online, that inventory is not being replaced by the manufacturer and will run out soon.

Zicam Ingredients Zinc

Because the Zicam Cold Sore Gel Swabs were discontinued, many people who had been satisfied with the product as a cold sore medicine went in search of a replacement product. Although the white cream called Zinc Oxide was readily available, the molecule in that application is too large to penetrate skin cells, and therefore does not provide the same therapeutic effect.

Some people say that taking Zinc tablets can help prevent outbreaks of cold sores, and there is some evidence that indicates that people who get cold sores are low in zinc. Another option that people have been trying has been to make a paste of the Zicam Cold Lozenges, which have the same Zinc Glutonate active ingredient as the gel swab did.

Although it is a different preparation and the application is different, cold sore suffers are open to trying anything that will provide them relief from the painful, burning, ugly blisters and scabs.