Do you have cold sore questions? Then this article is just for you. Read it and discover many amazing facts about cold sores and what you can do about them.
WHAT ARE cold soreS?
cold sores come at the most inconvenient times. Painful and ugly, cold sores really hurt your social life.
These herpes infections have several names - cold sores, fever blisters, or oral herpes - but they are all the same. They occur and reoccur where the virus first entered the body. The lip is the most common infection point.
Herpes simplex virus, either type 1 or type 2, produces all cold sores. It is a very damaging virus, as you will see.
When the herpes virus first enters your body, it will claim a nearby nerve fiber as its lifetime home. All cold sores produced by this virus family will be at the surface end of that nerve fiber.
WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF PAINFUL cold soreS?
Most of the time this herpes virus will sleep in the root cells of its home nerve. If it becomes active, it will wiggle to the surface through the nerve and drill into your surface nerve cells.
Herpes virus cannot reproduce on its own - like bacteria does. It is the host cells that create the new virus particles. The virus will enter your surface nerve cells and force them to build virus clones.
The cold sore area will swell up as the cells fill up with the new virus particles. Once full, the cells burst open to release tons of this fresh herpes virus.
When the herpes virus annihilates many cells, you end up with an open wound called a cold sore. Painful they are because you now have exposed nerve endings.
IS THE cold sore VIRUS CONTAGIOUS?
The herpes simplex virus is an extremely tiny living particle. It enters the body through soft tissue - like lips - or through cracks in the skin. You are very contagious from the first itching until the final healing redness is gone.
Contaminated fingers and kissing are the most common ways you pass this virus to others. Do not touch the cold sore with bare fingers and always sterilize your hands after any cold sore treatment.
You can spread the cold sore to any place on your body. You can get cold sores on your fingers, arm or cheek if the virus gets through a crack or other sore to the soft tissue. These can be more painful than common lip sores.
Be especially careful not to infect your eyes. A cold sore on the cornea will cause serious injury.
Nearly 90% of folks on earth carry the herpes simplex virus. The majority of these people will get a sore at least once a year - and usually a lot more.
WHAT CAN I DO TO GET RID OF cold soreS?
Stress is the most common reason that the herpes virus becomes active. Under stress, your hormones change, causing an acid pH balance. The herpes simplex virus does very well when your body is in an acid state.
Without your help, your body will heal all oral herpes cold sores. It is slow, however, and often takes three to four weeks or more. Slash this time in half with a proven cold sore treatment program.
Your best bet for effective cold sore treatment is still by using natural remedies. They usually work better than prescription and over-the-counter options.
Garlic, lysine and the healing mineral zinc are three of several great cold sore treatment plans currently in use. Use all three topically, but lysine and zinc will do their best work if taken internally with supplements.
Any cold sore care plan should always include continuous cleansing using hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or wine soaked cotton balls or tissues.
Without a doubt, oral herpes cold sores really put the hurts to your social life. They are very difficult to deal with. With what you have just read, you should now have a huge advantage the next time a cold sore attacks.
You need to try different cold sore treatment methods to discover the best one for you. Then you too can be cold sore free for the rest of your life.
