What Are Cold Sores And How To Cope With Your Cold Sore
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 really interfere with our lives. Painful and unsightly, cold sores greatly affect your personal and 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.
The herpes simplex virus is the parasite virus that causes cold sores. A cold sore is actually the side effect of the herpes replication process.
When this virus first infects you, it will choose a nerve set nearest its entry point. It will reside in that nerve for life. All cold sores caused by this virus family will be in the same location every time – on the end of that nerve.
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.
Unlike bacteria, the herpes virus can’t reproduce its own kind. In parasite fashion, the herpes virus enters your nerve cells and forces them to become virus factories.
Swelling of the area occurs as the cells fill up with the virus particles they are creating. When the cell is full to capacity, the controlling virus destroys it dumping out millions of new viruses.
The destruction of many cells close together causes the open cold sore. These cold are quite painful to the touch because the nerve tips are exposed.
HOW CONTAGIOUS ARE COLD SORES?
The herpes simplex virus is a tiny, sub-microscopic particle. It enters the body through contact with your soft tissue – like lips. If you have a skin crack, it will enter there too. You are very contagious during the entire event.
Kissing is the usual way to pass on this virus. Contaminated fingers are also a common culprit. Please use every means to protect yourself and others. Use alcohol soaked tissues to cleanse the sore. Wash your hands afterwards.
It is possible to get cold sores anywhere on your body where the virus can get through to the soft tissue. Finger sores, arm sores and cheek sores do occur – mostly by carelessness with contaminated fingers and a crack in the skin.
Do not infect your eyes. Cold sores in the eyes can happen and it often permanently affects the vision.
About 90% of the people on earth carry this durable and contagious herpes virus. Approximately two-thirds of these folks will get at least one cold sore every 12 months.
WHAT CAN I DO TO GET RID OF COLD SORES?
The most common trigger activating the herpes simplex virus is stress. When you have stress, your body prepares to deal with it. This causes a change in hormones and a drop in your pH toward the acid side. Herpes loves an acid body.
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.
No doubt about it – oral herpes cold sores damage your social life as well as your lip. Yes, they are hard to cope with. But now, with the knowledge you have just gained, you are much more prepared for the next battle.
It takes a little trial and error to find the best cold sore treatment for your own needs. But when you do, you will enjoy beautiful cold sore freedom.
More questions about Cold Sores? Check out Denny Bodoh’s very popular web-site jam-packed with FREE expert reports. You will discover a few really great Cold Sore Treatment methods you can begin using right this minute.
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