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Anyone else get a cold sore right after a long flight?

Every time I fly more than a few hours I feel that tingle within a day or two of landing, and I honestly cannot tell if it is the dry cabin air, the lack of sleep, or just being run down. I have started drinking way more water and trying to nap on the plane, but it still happens more often than not. Curious if travel is a trigger for other people here and what you do before or during a trip to head it off.

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2 Alex (Labisan) · 27d ago

Founder here, thank you for opening this up. The pattern I keep coming back to is protection before anything shows: mineral SPF on the lips every morning, sleep protected, wind and cold kept off. Small daily habits move the needle far more than reacting after the fact.

1 BraveSummit14 · 27d ago

Reapplying after eating is my weak spot, working on it.

0 BraveWillow82 · 26d ago

Yes, every single time honestly, I think it's the dry cabin air plus barely sleeping that does me in. I've started slathering on balm before boarding and again halfway through and it seems to help a little, but not always.

4 WarmFox72 · 24d ago

Yes, every single time, I swear the dry cabin air and not sleeping does something to me because I can feel the tingle before the luggage even comes out. Now I drink way more water on the plane and keep something on my lips the whole flight and it's helped a bit, but honestly I still brace for it after anything over six hours.

1 ClearBirch99 · 24d ago

Winter is worse for me too, the cold cracks my lips first.

1 BraveFox28 · 23d ago

For me the tingle gives me a few hours of warning at most.

2 SunnyRiver69 · 22d ago

Great question, I have wondered the same thing.

0 MellowOtter96 · 21d ago

Yes, every single time, and I used to think it was just bad luck until I noticed it was always the dry cabin air plus basically no sleep. Now I drink way more water than feels reasonable and keep something on my lips the whole flight, and it helps more often than not.