Zilactin Cold Sore Gel, Medicated Gel 0.25 oz

Only thing that truly works for cold sores

I've used this stuff for years and it seems like I can only buy it on Amazon these days. If you're prone to mouth sores, this is the best stuff. Use it as soon as one starts to form - I think it must work by maturing a sore at the size that it is, before it gets big and really painful. But also don't use it too long, it can irritate your mouth if you do. It hurts like crazy going on, just hang in there or jump around or something, and try to let it air dry as much as you can, and turn opaque before you let it touch the rest of your mouth. But even if that doesn't happen, it will cover the sore, it just might cover the rest of your mouth as well. And I wipe the affected area dry first. I put a little on one end of a cotton swab, use the other end to wipe the sore dry, then apply the medicine. Then I fan it dry (sometimes with my hand, sometimes with an actual fan) and hop around and generally agonize until it's a bit more dry, then close my mouth. I also think it's a bit easier to use at night when you won't be eating around it or otherwise scraping off the stuff, though it sticks pretty well (and if you pull it off, it will irritate your mouth even more.)

I occasionally get cold sores. If you get them, you know that sure tingly feeling in your lip where it is about to appear. That is when you put this stuff on right away. It is a clear gel which stings for a minute or so when you put it on. It has alcohol in it, so it dries pretty quick and it then forms a film. Although it is not a colored film, it is not like you can't see it at all. The best to describe it is like a small piece of plastic. You have to do this several times a day. You can't peel the film off unless you like to end up hurting yourself. The instructions say you can remove it by dissolving it with more gel and then taking it off. I found that the warm shower takes care of it although you should not try to remove the film all the time since it is taking care of that cold sore. It is absolutely the most effective product I have used for cold sores. With other products, the cold sore would still materialize. With the first sign/feeling of the cold sore coming up, you have to apply the Zilactin. Only with this product I was able to prevent the cold sore from becoming that big oozy blister. Now, that does not mean it just disappeared instantly. I could still feel the tingly bump for several days when I was applying the gel. When the bump went away, my skin would still heal by forming new skin and getting a red patchy area. So it basically skipped the worst days of the oozing blister in between. Update: I had two cold sores popping up again. I applied the Zilactin right away and my lip seemed to be doing fine. The Zilactin dries it out a lot and you always feel like you have some duct tape or so on your lip. So I decided to put a fat layer of Vaseline on top of it just before going to sleep. Big mistake. The next morning, I had two full blown cold sores and at that time Zilactin does not do that much any more. Obviously, the product works by drying out the blister and you should not try to mess with that.

Cold sores are one of the great aggravations of life. They aren't going to kill us (I guess), but they sure look ugly and are painful when we have them. Over the years before I found this, I tried all kinds of ointments and liquids but none of them seemed be effective. Then I tried Zilactin. I'm not going to pretend to understand why this product works so well. It seems to create a barrier over the developing cold sore and dry it out a bit, but it ultimately seems to stop them for me from spreading or developing futher. I've been using it for about ten years or so, and it really has been the most effective product I've ever found. It tastes and smells a bit weird until it dries (which is very quickly) and after that, you'll hardly notice the area itching or bothering you. After two days with Zilactin for me, they are always gone. A real plus it that using this quickly keeps them from becoming obvious to an observer, so you don't have to worry about an ugly blemish. Sadly, I wasn't able to find it on a trip to my local Walgreen's, but I'm glad Amazon came through, and their price certainly was better than I had been paying. Although the container is fairly small, you'll find it lasts surprisingly long, because if you catch them the very first day you feel one coming on, a small application will suppress it growing larger, and it will have healed fully in two or three days.