Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

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NMchop
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Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by NMchop » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:43 am

Therapy is going pretty good. I felt like a superhero on Saturday.

Today, I felt good but a cold sore has developed on my upper lip/middle.

I get these usually when lips get sunburnt or sometimes when it's real windy (hello, CPAP wind, just my theory.
I might be wrong,).

I'm going to consult with a doctor when I can get in so I can get a prescription for some RX lip stuff, but does anyone else have an experience like this?

4 days in, I get cold sore.....I'm not finding it a coincidence (Face mask that covers nose and mouth).

The area of the sore does NOT contact the mask.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by ChicagoGranny » Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:24 am

CPAP does not cause cold sores. Cold sores are caused by a herpes simplex virus (HSV-1).

See your doctor for an accurate diagnosis. If it is a cold sore, he will probably prescribe an antiviral such as,
Acyclovir (Xerese, Zovirax)
Valacyclovir (Valtrex)
Famciclovir (Famvir)
Penciclovir (Denavir)

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OkyDoky
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by OkyDoky » Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:49 am

I also had an outbreak a few days after I started treatment using a nasal mask. Sure wind and sun are factors but a big one for me is stress and I figured that was the culprit as I was trying to get use to the mask. Haven't had another breakout in 6 months.
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MagsterMile
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by MagsterMile » Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:58 am

In the interim, I have a solution that might work for you since it helps me out. When I get a cold sore, I will take an ice cube and wrap it in a napkin or Kleenex and press it on the sore for about as long as I can stand it. Give it a short rest, and repress. It does seem to help with the pain and swelling. You probably notice the 'tingling' sensation you get in the area just prior to the sore breaking through. If you catch it with the ice cube at that point, you might be able to totally eliminate the sore coming out at that time. That being said, now that I'm older, the breakouts are less frequent. Keeping the sun off your face as much as possible will also help. When I go hiking or even for short walks, I make sure I wear a wide brimmed hat. I can't say that I've noticed if wind on my face is a trigger for the cold sores or not. I use a FFM and don't think that it have anything to do with a cold sore returning. Wash your cushion daily and once a week, rinse it in a cold water and vinegar bath is my recommendation.

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LSAT
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by LSAT » Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:12 am

Several years ago, my doctor recommended that I try OTC L-Lysine tablets (Dietary Supplement).

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robysue
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by robysue » Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:44 am

NMchop wrote:Therapy is going pretty good. I felt like a superhero on Saturday.

Today, I felt good but a cold sore has developed on my upper lip/middle.

I get these usually when lips get sunburnt or sometimes when it's real windy (hello, CPAP wind, just my theory.
I might be wrong,).

...

4 days in, I get cold sore.....I'm not finding it a coincidence (Face mask that covers nose and mouth).

The area of the sore does NOT contact the mask.
As others have pointed out, cold sores are caused by a herpes virus. However, we never actually get rid of the herpes virus; rather the body manages to bottle it up and keep it in prison most of the time. When the herpes virus gets past the immune system's safeguards, however, the result is a cold sore. And different things can trigger a herpes outbreak in different people. Stress is a common trigger for a lot of people, but it's certainly possible that significant lip damage (sunburnt or badly wind-chapped lips) might also be a trigger in some people

So if you have a past history of cold sores erupting after your lips are damaged by sun or wind, it's possible that between the stress of starting CPAP and the windy feeling you're dealing with, the herpes virus escaped and you wound up with an ugly cold sore right on your already sore lip.

So since chapped lips may be a cold sore trigger for you, preventing CPAP-chapped lips is going to be important in the long run for your adjustment to CPAP therapy. And dealing with CPAP-chapped lips is (unfortunately) something I'm all too familiar with.

The first winter I used CPAP my lips (and me) were miserable: My lips got severely wind chapped from the air blowing out of the exhaust vents on the Swift FX nasal pillows mask. I was not only sensitive to the air blowing out of the vents and onto my lips, but the design of the FX vents tends to concentrate the exhaust flow and if I had the hose oriented so that the flow wasn't down my lips and chin, it would bounce off the covers and back into my face and still chap my lips.

And I went through that winter with what I called "clown lips". Really severe chapping not only on the lips themselves, but on the skin all around the lips as well. I was using massive amounts of various kinds of nonpetroleum based "chapsticks", lip balms, and the old standby around here of Lansinoh, but none of it was helping since it would wear off during the night. (I was even sleeping with a stick of Burt's Bees in my hand at night.) My sleep doc's PA was of little help---she recommended some stuff with vasoline in it, which of course is a big no-no for the silicone in the mask interface. A PA in my primary care doc's office, however, did listen to me and actually look at just how bad my lips were. She wound up calling in a script to a compounding pharmacy to make me a long lasting, non-petroleum jelly based chapstick for me to use. That helped, but it still took a very long time for my lips to heal.

Each winter since then, I've still had problems, but the problems have decreased in severity each winter. I still prefer to slather my lips with Badger Balm or Burts Bees each night, but if I miss a night or two now, I don't wake up with instant severely chapped lips. I'm not willing to sleep without protection on my lips for more than 2 or 3 nights in a row since each night I forget to slather on the lip balm increases the noticeable chapping in the morning. I also find that I need to pay attention to my hydration in the winter since when I'm dehydrated my lips are much more easily chapped, both by regular wind and the CPAP exhaust flow. And if my lips are starting to chap, I find that I often have to sleep with a cotton hanky draped over my lips to provide an extra layer of protection from the CPAP exhaust flow.

So my advice: Get the cold sore healed with some prescription stuff. And start working hard on figuring out a way to protect your lips from the CPAP wind each night so that you can minimize the problem in the future.

Good luck

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:56 am

If you feel the "tingling" before a cold sore appears, there is usually enough time
to start a short course of an antiviral, and nip that ugly thing in the bud.
You need to have the drug on hand, because this usually happens after hours or on weekends.
Ice is a big help if it is already a lesion.

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Inspectorgene
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Re: Cold sore on Day 4 (thinking it's the CPAP wind)

Post by Inspectorgene » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:16 am

I have suffered with cold sores all my life, and what helps me the most is to just wet a tea bag and hold it to the affected area just as you start to get the tingle. YMMV