Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I hate cold sores. I HATE them. I hate them with such unbridled fury and passion that if I were to be judged at the time of my death, and the subject of my blistering hatred came up(no pun intended), Heaven wouldn't want me, and Hell would just plain fear me. But after so many years of putting up with this plague, there is a solution. I usually get fever sores(cold sores) about 8-10 times a year. Usually every 2 months, I get a new outbreak around my lips. It could be a minor outbreak, with a simple little bump on the upper or lower lip, or a grotesque outbreak cluster of about 4-7 sores at once. Usually, these sores last 1-2 weeks, sometimes longer. The day I discovered Abreva, that all changed. As it states, Abreva cuts down the duration of cold sores quite dramatically. If you manage to detect a cold sore as it just begins to form (usually indicated by a burning or tingling sensation on the lip area), application of Abreva will possibly event prevent the outbreak entirely. Upon a breakout of sores, I find that consistent application cuts the duration of sores from 1-2 weeks to a mere 1-3 days! Don't beleive the utterly ridiculous accusations that Abreva is a placebo...this stuff works, and it works well. Aside from cutting down the duration of the sore, Abreva also releives any burning and itching you may get from them, so after a while you may not even realize that they're there. The cream is comfortable, and it doesn't sting, burn or itch after application. Though the white cream leaves a film after application, if you rub it in strongly the film disappears. Though the box recommends 4 applications a day, I usually double that to 8, and up to 10 times a day for those particularly brutal outbreaks. There are some disadvantages to Abreva, and perhaps the greatest of all: the price! Amazon.com, bless them, has this item listed at 13.99...try finding Abreva at that price anywhere else and you're in for a shocker...it usually goes for $18 on average, and we're talking a VERY small tube here. Don't let the size of the box fool you, the actual tube is less than half the size of my pinky finger! So in short, the cream is a marvel, but the price is simply outrageous. If you are plagued with cold sores on a routine basis, then its worth the price. If not, then I can't justify spending $18 on Abreva if you only get cold sores once in a blue moon. But like I said, thank you Amazon for the much cheaper price! Another disadvantage is that the tube tends to leak. Upon opening the tube for the first time, the cream tends to stat pushing itself out. When you open the tube for next use, you may find that alot of the cream has been squished into the cap, and that more of it will push out immediately upon the cap being removed. This leads to a lot of waste of the product. Another disadvantage is that the cream is virtually ineffective at treating cold sores that appear on the underside of the lip closer to the inside of your mouth, mainly because you'll end up inadvertantly licking the cream off or it will get washed away by your saliva. Finally, the cream dries your lips up quite alot...I would recommend using chapstick to moisturize your lips while using Abreva, because they will become very dry and chapped with continued usage. Overall, Abreva is one of the greatest things to happen to us cold sore slaves ever. Herpicin-L is utterly useless, Campophenique does little more than burn, dry out and taste awful, and chapstick only exacerbates the sore. Abreva is the way to go. If you can justify shelling out the cash for Abreva, then by all means, do it. Those of us that get multiple outbreaks a year will love it. Others who rarely get them needn't apply, unless the breakout is particularly brutal.