My son just got his first cold sore, what should I do about it?

Keep his hands away from it as much as you can, and give him his own towel and cup for a while. It is really common in kids, so try not to worry too much.

A little lip balm with spf helped my daughter a lot since her lips got so chapped and sore. We also kept her out of the sun and made sure she was drinking plenty of water.

I would give the pediatrician a quick call just so you know what to expect, and ask them about whether anything like abreva is okay at his age. Getting plenty of rest and sleep made a big difference for my nephew too.

This is exactly the kind of thing the community is for. Small consistent habits beat any single fix, in my experience.

Oh I remember that panic with my daughter, honestly the biggest thing is just keeping his hands off it and reminding him not to share cups or towels for a week or so. It looks scarier than it is and it will clear up on its own, so try not to stress too much.

Oh I remember that panic so well with my daughter. Honestly the biggest thing for us was just keeping him from picking at it and making sure nobody shares cups or towels for a bit, the first one is always the scariest but they do calm down.

Oh I remember that panic with my daughter, honestly the biggest thing that helped was keeping it simple, cold compress, not letting her pick at it, and just reassuring her it's really common and not her fault. It passed faster than I expected and she barely thinks about it now.

Oh I remember that panic with my daughter, honestly the biggest thing is just keeping him from picking at it and making sure he uses his own towel and cup for a bit. It looks worse than it is and it'll be gone before you know it, hang in there.