âI love that Iâve had the opportunity to open thousands of peopleâs eyes to the ripple effect that one person can have on another. One of the absolute best things an activist can do is train new activists, and working with Grassroots has allowed me to do that on a daily basis.
Cold sores are caused by a Herpes Virus (HSV-I not the genital variety HSV-II). Abreva is a topical medication that can help fight and speed healing of cold sores. Abreva is over the counter in the USA. Neosporin will not keep the virus from spreading but could help it from becoming secondarily infected with bacteria. Neosporin contains 3 antibiotics: Neomycin, Bacitracin and Polymyxin.
First, the most important thing to speed healing is to avoid picking at the scab. Premature removal of the scab will result in delayed healing and potentially scarring as well. Applying Neosporin, as you are doing, may also help both by preventing infection and also keeping the new skin moist, which speeds healing. A band-aid may also help with keeping the area moist and protected. The brownish discoloration that results at the end of the healing process is called post inflammatory hyper pigmentation. This, unfortunately, can last quite a while, up to several months, and it is difficult to predict exactly how long.