Just a heads up for people who get cold sores, azelaic acid might trigger them! šŸ˜“

Just want to elaborate, when I say trigger, I do not mean cause or create (thatā€™s not possible lol) Iā€™m talking about people who have already contacted it.

I havenā€™t gotten one in YEARS. I tried azelaic acid for the first time 2 nights ago, and boom cold sore on my lip. It was the only difference Iā€™ve made (regarding skincare, lifestyle, diet, everything). So I looked it up, and read that it can be a trigger for them.

I had no idea, so I just wanted to let others know! I thought this was gonna be a game changer for my acne and PAE/PIE, Iā€™m so disappointed and wish I had known it was a risk :frowning:

I used to get cold sores many times in a month. I got prescribed Valtrex by my doctor and havenā€™t had one since!

Itā€™s not a daily pill you take, just whenever I feel the ā€œtinglingā€ feeling I take a dose of the medication and it completely stops it in its tracks! The key is to take the pills as soon as you feel it and it wonā€™t even surface.

I used to get them ALL the time. My doctor put me on V also and they were so often she kept me on it daily, she did warn me about the AA, but since Iā€™m on V daily she felt it shouldnā€™t be a problem and approved its use. Havenā€™t had a problem.

Yeah I used have this! It works really well! I just havenā€™t had one in years, so I havenā€™t needed to refill at all and donā€™t have any on hand :ā€™)

Another note, glycolic acid does the same. I am VERY prone to cold sores, I did get one the very first time I used glycolic acid. (Abreeva is amazing & I always have it on hand since it works fast lol). But I do use both Azelaic & glycolic - Iā€™m just super careful around my mouth as in not getting close.bi do also use OTC azelaic not prescription. I havenā€™t had an issue since that first time w/glycolic & that was about 6 months ago.

Yeah, I accidentally got a drop of vitamin C serum on my lip and that triggered a cold sore. Looked it up and itā€™s possible for something acidic to trigger cold sores on lips.

Shameless plug for Luminance Red. Its 300$ but 300$ and within 3 months of using it regularly I havenā€™t had a single cold sore in 3 years.

How do you use it. Just zap the popular areas?

Wow! I had no ideaā€‹:bulb: I hope :pray: I can remember this post later.

This is freakishly timely, last night I patted some leftover azelaic acid onto my lips out of habit and this morning I woke up with a bump on my lip. I havenā€™t had a cold sore in years. Iā€™m going to be super careful about putting products near my lips from now on.

Would you kindly share the source that you discovered? The one that verifies the connection between cold sores and azaleic acid?
It can either cause or worsen cold sores, as far as I can tell. Azelaic acid topical cream: https://www.medicinenet.com/article.htm

You ought to visit a physician if you develop a cold sore. It might not be connected to the Aza.

HSV is the cause of cold sores, according to the AAD. View the cold sores overview at Diseases and conditions: A to Z

Hi. In my first sentence when I made the post, I specified why I chose the specific word ā€œtriggerā€ and elaborated that I was NOT claiming that the azelaic acid CAUSED the sore. I was simply making a post for others because I wish I had known.

When I say trigger, I mean like ā€œunearthā€ I guess? ā€œPoke atā€ ā€œirritateā€? For example sun exposure is another big ā€œtriggerā€ for me and lot of people. When I say that, I donā€™t mean that I believe the sun gave me herpes or something lol

No I kinda had a feeling my post might be misinterpreted, so from the VERY beginning I absolutely MADE SURE to make it my very first sentence haha

I did edit the post at one point to fix a grammar mistake I think, or that mightā€™ve been a comment :face_with_monocle::sweat_smile: My comment before this one, I also edited to further elaborate on my use of the word ā€œtriggerā€ with the sun example.

Someone just alerted me that I made a serious typo in my original comment. I wrote it worsens NOR triggers cold sores, and I meant to write it worsens NOT triggers them :woman_facepalming:t4:. I fixed it now. Just wanted you to know that, fwiw.

The article you quoted actually states that ā€˜Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely side effects occur: worsening of cold sores or fever blisters (oral herpes)ā€˜ So it occurs. Even though itā€™s unlikely it does happen. Also HSV is a disease that never leaves your system and it does cause cold sores and blisters, you do have to already have HSV to have the cold sore triggered.

One more thing to note, taking vitamin C orally can trigger one also.