Cold Sores

Cold Sores

Cold sores normally first occur on or near your lip. They are caused by a type of herpes virus that is highly contagious and are often caught in childhood from someone who is infected. The virus lies dormant until it is activated, usually at a most inconvenient moment, and starts by tingling or burning near where the blister is going to occur. Within a few hours one or more small blisters form, often swelling the surrounding area, giving rise to a throbbing painful sore.

The liquid inside the blister contains active herpes viruses, so may spread to other areas or other people once the blister breaks. The sore may become infected with bacteria as well as with the virus, so care must be taken to prevent any further infection.

Once you have had your first cold sore you remain infected, so there is no absolute cure. The virus often lies dormant for some time, and is activated by stress, sunburn, colds and flu’, by physical injury such as from dental work, fatigue and being run down.

The best treatment for cold sores is not to get one in the first place, so take care when people around you have a cold sore. Make sure you don’t share cups, cutlery, toothbrushes and towels. Ensure you (and they) wash and dry your hands frequently. It is also helpful to consider carefully whether you need to kiss them when they have an active cold sore.

The next best treatment is specific antiviral medicines, used at the first sign of tingling, which is the warning sign that cold sores are on their way. Many medicines are available at your local pharmacy – from tablets that are taken as soon as warning signs develop, to medicated patches that treat the cold sore with specific antiviral medicine as well as protecting the cold sore from infection from hands or food debris. Other patches that are not medicated protect the area from spreading to others, ease the pain and help to heal and protect.

Most cold sores resolve within 10 days, but will return if you don’t prevent the triggers from activating the virus again. Your community pharmacist will be able to give you advice to treat and prevent reinfection of cold sores, and determine if you need to seek further medical help to prevent your cold sores developing into more serious infections.

Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)

Causes of swallowing difficulties

Swallowing difficulties can happen at any age. There are a wide range of causes for them, including:

some medicines, such as antipsychotics
heartburn and acid reflux
cancer, such as mouth or throat cancers
nervous system or brain disorders
muscle disorders
blockages or structural issues with your mouth, throat or oesophagus.

Symptoms of swallowing difficulties

Symptoms of swallowing difficulties may include:

coughing or choking when eating or drinking
bringing food back up, may be through your nose
the feeling that food is stuck in your throat
having issues chewing your food
problems with dribbling.

Swallowing difficulties can cause weight loss, dehydration and chest infections.

Diagnosing swallowing difficulties

Let your healthcare provider know if you have swallowing difficulties. They will ask you about your symptoms and check if any other health conditions you have may be the cause.

Your healthcare provider may refer you to a specialist for tests. These may include a:

gastroscopy—a camera is passed down through your mouth to look at your throat and stomach
swallowing study—your throat and stomach are x-rayed as you swallow small amounts of food.

Treating swallowing difficulties

How your swallowing difficulties are treated depends on the cause and how severe it is. Treatments may include:

medicines to treat acid reflux
swallowing therapy with a speech and language therapist
making changes to what you eat and drink, such as softer foods and using thickener in drinks
using special spoons, plates and cups
surgery to widen your oesophagus.
using special medication lubricants eg Gloup to help make it easier to swallow tablets etc. For more information click here.

Self care for swallowing difficulties

As well as seeing your healthcare provider, the following tips may help you to get food or liquids into your stomach.

Sit upright in a chair—at a table is best.
Have regular small meals instead of the main large meals.
Eat or drink small mouthfuls at a time.
If your voice is gurgly when you eat or drink, give a small cough to make sure your airway is clear.
Wet food will be easier to swallow as dry food can catch in your throat.
If your food has 2 consistencies, such as fruit in juice and cereal in milk, try to mix it into 1 consistency, or eat the solid and liquid portions separately.
Concentrate on eating and avoid talking.
Hot, ice-cold or fizzy liquids are easier to swallow than room temperature liquids.
If you are told to have thickened liquids, avoid ice-cream and jelly as they thin before swallowing.
Drink from the top half of you cup to avoid tipping your head back.

Have a look at our range of Gloup medication lubricants here which can help with difficulties swallowing tablets...

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