What the Patient Can Do? Fever Blister Treatment

If fever blisters erupt, they should be kept clean and dry to prevent bacterial infections.

A soft, bland diet is recommended to avoid irritating the sores and surrounding sensitive areas.

Care should be taken to refrain from touching the sores and spreading the virus to new sites, such as the eyes and genitals.

To prevent infecting others, kissing should be avoided as well as touching the sores and then touching others.

Little information exists on ways to prevent recurrences of fever blisters.

People who develop fever blisters after sun exposure might try to minimize sun exposure by avoidance or by the use of sun shields and/or hats or sun blocking agents.

People who develop recurrences in response to stress should attempt to minimize exposure to stressful situations.

Changes in diet by the elimination of rich foods such as nuts, chocolates, seeds or gelatin or by the addition of lysine have been advocated by some investigators.

However, none of the above measures has yet proven effective in controlled studies.