COLD SORES

Not only are cold sores painful and unsightly, they are also very difficult to prevent. And, although they may not be cured or completely prevented, steps may be taken to reduce the frequency of the blisters and shorten the duration of their occurrence. Sufferers are aware of the tell-tale signs of herpes blisters shortly due to appear: a tight tingling slightly burning sensation in the lip area.

You wake up the next day and there it is! The typical symptoms are the fluidfilled blisters on a reddened area of skin around the mouth. These symptoms, felt before the blisters appear, are known as the prodrome phase, which is the term given to any early symptoms indicating the onset of an illness.

Pharmacy customer: Good morning.
PTA: Good morning, how may I help you?

I just know that I’m going to get a cold sore within the next 24 hours!
Well, it’s good to come to us before the blisters appear.

I haven’t had a cold sore for ages, and I was hoping there was some type of wonder drug to help.
Oh yes. There have been quite a few advances in herpes simplex treatment in the last years. Some need a prescription, though.

Are there any non-prescription medicines? You know some type of cream or gel to apply to the affected area?
Of course, this cream here is really effective and you can use it even if the blisters have already appeared. It contains penciclovir. You should apply it every two hours and at least six times a day.

I hope it works, I’m going on holiday soon and that’s the last thing that I need.
That’s probably the reason that your cold sore has appeared.

Really! Why?
One common name for lip herpes is fever blisters, and fever is one of the triggers. Stress and fatigue are two of the other main triggers, as well as exposure to the sun and menstruation.

Ah! Exposure to the sun! We’re going to a very sunny country and I need some new sun milk.
Certainly, this one here is very light and provides good protection. As soon as your cold sore has fully healed, I recommend a lip balm with a UVP factor to protect your lips from further exposure. Try to avoid too much sun.

Thank you. I’ll take both with me. Anything else that you can recommend? Are there any precautions that I can take?
Well, the first thing is to avoid squeezing, pinching or picking at the blisters as soon as they start to crust.

That’s hard not to do!
Avoid kissing, obviously! And contact with infants, people with eczema or with a suppressed immune system. These people are all at risk of severe infection.

I’ll do that.
Try to avoid sharing things such as towels, lipstick and other items when the blisters are still present.

I will. Thank you. Bye.
Bye! And have a nice holiday.

VOCABULARY
cold sore Lippenherpes
nuisance Ärgernis
unsightly unansehnlich
reduce the frequency die Häufigkeit verringern
duration Dauer
occurrence Auftreten
tell-tale verräterisch
tight (es) spannt
tingling kribbelnd, prickelnd
burning brennend
sensation (hier) Gefühl
prodrome Prodrome, Frühsymptom einer Erkrankung
prescription Rezept, Verschreibung
apply auftragen
high yield ergiebig
trigger Auslöser
fatigue Ermüdung, Ermattung
squeezing ausquetschen
pinching zwicken
suppressed unterdrückt
severe schwerwiegend

Den Artikel finden Sie auch in Die PTA IN DER APOTHEKE 08/11 auf Seite 58.

Catherine Croghan, Lecturer in English and native speaker