Popping Cold Sores: Good Or Bad Practice

Cold sores are those tiny red blisters that one gets when you have had contact with a person who has the herpes simplex virus. These blisters are usually apparent in the mouth and nose area of the infected individual. Usually healing time for cold sores is about a maximum of two weeks although some complicated cases have exceeded this. Popping cold sores is one of the many things that an individual might feel compelled to do especially when the sight of the ripe red blister can be so tempting.


Views On Popping Cold Sores

Many people say that popping cold sores can hasten the healing period of the condition. On the other hand, doing this may also complicate the condition more as stated by other people. Many people have conflicting ideas regarding popping cold sores. Those who agree on popping cold sores say that this will hasten the healing period because a popped cold sores will scab within a few days instead of over a week. Popping cold sores are also believed to be able to dry out the small blisters for earlier healing and scabbing.

For those who oppose popping cold sores, they state that fiddling too much with the tiny blisters can lead to complications of the condition. This is because popping cold sores can spread the virus around your body as well as let other harmful bacteria into the open wound that is not ready for healing yet. They also believe that the mere fact that you are touching the blister can further the spread of the disease.

Overall, popping cold sores is not a good idea because it can transfer the virus into some other parts of your body that may have come into contact with the initial sores. Opening blisters also make them vulnerable to bacteria and germs that can lead to another entirely different infection. This is not a good idea especially if the cold sores occur in your face. You may be disfigured by this or may have deep scars.

Popping cold sores may be effective for some people but there is surely a way that these individuals deal with the cleaning of their blisters in such a way that they do not contract other infections. There are some antiseptic and antibacterial ointments that you can apply on the cold sores that have popped to prevent them from getting infected. Popping cold sores may lead to deep tissue scarring that can deform your face.