Let the sun shine…

…but keep my lips safe and clean

 OK, here in Southern California I wish I was saying Let it Rain, but it just doesn’t seem to be going that way for us…and there is a heat wave supposedly coming down the pipe real soon for us. We have noticed at Southern California Dental Health Associates that as there is more sun we start seeing more cold sores (fever blisters or recurrent herpes labialis).  Sunlight is one of the main triggers for cold sores as is stress, sunburn and dehydration (among others).  They usually last up to 2 weeks, are unsightly and may be very uncomfortable.  And most importantly, these sores are extremely active, they can spread if not protected for.

Now if you are one of those people who suffer from cold sores you know that sometimes you get lucky and you can actually feel them starting to come on.  This is called the prodromal stage and can last for a few hours to a few days and symptoms usually include tingling of the tissue or reddening of the skin in the area where the sore is about to come out.  This is the best time to proactively treat the cold sore.

In the past all we could do at our office was provide medication, something like Zovirax to be taken for anywhere from 2 to 5 days to at least help the healing process move along.  But, today, At Southern California Dental Health Associates we have a few new tricks up our sleeves to help you fight these unsightly sores.

First, we can still use the medications, but you should probably already have them, because if you need to call us to get a prescription you may already be behind the proverbial 8 ball.  And now, we can use our diode laser to help attack the virus as it is starting to multiple in the site and create that havoc we know as one of those blemishes we hate to see.  The laser never cuts, we use the specific wavelength to mre or less stop it from replicating right then and there.

In addition to the laser we also have Ozone available.  Ozone is capable of killing the virus as well.  It has been reported in some literature that when you use ozone you may never get another breakout in that same location again.

Here is the bottom line.  You need to be very aggressive in getting to the treatment.  If you wait too long all we can do is hasten the healing, but if we get it early enough in the prodromal, it might never come out, and if it does, it is way smaller and may last for just 2-3 days.

So, as a public service annoucment, protect yourself from the sun.  If you break out try using a zinc oxide ointment to protect you lips.  And if you feel any tigling in the lip area..give us a call asap.

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Our Regular Schedule

Monday:

8:30 am-6:00 pm

Tuesday:

8:30 am-6:00 pm

Wednesday:

10:00 am-8:00 pm

Thursday:

8:30 am-6:00 pm

Friday:

8:00 am-2:00 pm

Saturday:

8:00 am-1:00 pm

Sunday:

Closed