What causes cold sores to occur in some folks and not others?
In this article, you will learn the three main causes of cold sores (and it is not stress) and how to easily take control to prevent your outbreaks.
Cold sores are created when the herpes virus replicates on your lip, face, or nose. Most of the time, the virus is dormant - hiding below the surface in the nerve root cells. But it sleeps with one eye open - watching for the right conditions for successful replication. And it will move fast when the opportunity arises.
Because it lives in your nervous system, it quickly senses changes in your body. When folks want to know the causes of cold sores, what they really need to discover are the triggers that activate the herpes virus.
There are three main triggers that I want you to think about here.
1. IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTH. Under normal conditions your immune system is strong enough to keep the herpes virus contained and dormant. There are several factors that affect the health of your immune system, but the most important is the nutrients you get from food and supplements.
If you are bothered by repeated cold sore events, you need to improve your nutritional intake. The easiest way to do this, in your busy world, is by taking a good vitamin and mineral supplement. This is a must for protecting yourself today. If you get chronic cold sores, then this is a sign you are very much at risk for more serious chronic diseases.
2. ARGININE AND LYSINE CONNECTION. These are two amino acids (proteins) that play an important role in the replication process of the herpes simplex virus. High levels of arginine and low levels of lysine in your body are ideal for triggering cold sore activity. Arginine is an essential building block for the creation of new virus. Without sufficient arginine, new virus cannot be created, thus stopping the replication process and preventing a cold sore event.
Your nerve cells store many different amino acids for various uses. Lysine and arginine are always in competition for the same space in the cell. The more lysine, the less arginine. Lysine does not support creation of new virus. Increasing your lysine stores can prevent, or greatly reduce, cold sore outbreaks.
3. ACID OR ALKALINE pH BALANCES. Herpes simplex virus loves an acid environment for it to do its dirty work. The pH scale runs from 1 (acid) to 14 (alkaline). pH of 7 being neutral. Your body is a beautiful, fine instrument. The perfect health pH balance for the human body is 7.4. When it drops below 7, your body is turning acid and inviting disease.
Normally the body regulates this quite well and will strive to keep your pH in the 6.5 to 7.4 ranges. A balanced diet of vegetables, meats, and fruits will support this. If, however, you are drinking a lot of carbonated beverages, for example, you are causing your body to go acid.
You may have heard that stress is the primary cause of cold sores. And it is true.
Why haven't I mentioned it until now? Because it is not the stress that causes cold sores, but what it does to the body. When you encounter stress your body will go into a survival mode which causes it to go acid.
In addition, stress burns up large amounts of nutrients needed for a strong immune system, thus weakening your defenses. Of particular importance are the B and C vitamins, and minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium. And stress encourages the cells to store more arginine.
Some physical stress triggers that will cause cold sore outbreaks are colds, flu and fevers, sunburn, dental work, and any accidental damage to the body. Mental stress triggers may include problems with people or jobs, car accidents, or upcoming weddings.
As we have seen, the causes of cold sores are based on the condition and health of your body. We also learned why stress is blamed for causing cold sores. Hopefully this information will help to end cold sores in your life, as it has done mine.
If you suffer from frequent cold sore outbreaks and want to learn what you can do to reduce their frequency and duration and get back some of the control of your life you've lost to the condition then you'll want to read this article. In it I'll discuss the usual reasons for suffering frequent outbreaks, what you can do to turn the situation around and the future of cold sore treatments. After reading this article, you should be able to make some lifestyle changes that will help your body fight the virus better. Cold sore are caused by the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-I), which is transmitted directly by contact with a cold sore blister or lesion. It is extremely common, with infection rates estimated to be anywhere between 70 and 90 percent of the adult population, with many of us contracting the virus in childhood.
The big problem with treating HSV is that there is currently no cure and so once infected it remains with us for life. That isn't to say that we will permanently have cold sores; most of the time the virus is in a dormant state in the nerve cells, where it is immune from anti-viral treatments that can attack it when in the infectious state. Cold sores are often triggered by the presence of another viral infection, such as a cold or flu; high levels of stress; overtiredness; hormonal changes such as those present due to menstruation; and even exposure to sunlight.While we are not in control of all of these, one long term strategy is to ensure that our lifestyles do not overburden the immune system so that it is better suited to deal with the cold sore virus, so that we suffer fewer outbreaks and those that occur are less severe.
Simple lifestyle changes include quitting smoking and reducing the amount of alcohol we consume. Also, it is important to our immune systems that we eat healthily and take regular exercise. Probably you're used to hearing the advice on diet and exercise, but have you put it into practice? If not, you should start to act now. Cut down on junk food and processed meals as they contain too much salt, sugar and saturated fats. Instead increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat and choose lean cuts of meat and fish whenever possible. As for exercise, you should aim for a brisk walk for 30 minutes per day. If that doesn't appeal, try joining a gym, take an exercise class, swim, cycle or do yoga. These are all good forms of exercise. A note on this, though; if you haven't exercised for years then see your doctor first.
The medical community is currently frustrated by the lack of progress in providing a highly effective medicinal cold sore treatment, and as drug based solutions remain relatively expensive and with some risk of side effects, many sufferers turn towards natural remedies for a solution. As there is no complete cure for the condition at present, any current cold sore treatment focuses on prevention, easing the symptoms, or healing. Because the virus awakes from its dormant state in the nerve cells only when the immune system becomes compromised in some way, it is important to ensure that the immune system is functioning at full strength, which can be achieved through regular exercise, diet and relaxation to minimize stress. However once an outbreak occurs we need to switch focus; we can help ease the symptoms of pain or itchiness and treat dry skin and cracks; and help reduce the impact of the virus to reduce the overall healing time and to ensure that the skin heals without scarring.
Cold sores usually take in the region of 7-10 days to complete the full cycle from tingling phase to healing and because the virus is contagious throughout these stages, remember to observe high standards of hygiene to ensure it is not spread, either to other parts of the body or to other people; always wash your hands after applying any topical remedy and avoid touching the lesion whenever possible. Many sufferers find that taking regular L-lysine supplements both reduces the frequency and severity of outbreaks. Other simple remedies include the application of sunscreen, which is often recommended for cold sore sufferers due to the fact that prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can serve as a trigger for the outbreak.
Compounds such as phenol, zinc, tannic acid and lysine have antiviral properties, which inhibit the ability of the herpes virus to form lesions and help form an environment that speeds up the healing process. Besides these compounds, lip balms are used to soften and moisturize the scabs that form, reducing bleeding and cracking. A number of herbal medications are also useful in cold sore treatment, with herbal antiseptics such as tea tree oil and sage, and herbal sedatives such as violet, having been found to offer relief. Many people have found that simply applying ice to the affected area can prove beneficial; when applied during the tingle stage it lowers the temperature and the metabolic rate of the area, thus slowing the development of cold sore; it also lessens itching and pain by acting as a numbing agent. Applying tea bags to the lesions is also often beneficial as tea contains tannic acid, which has been shown to minimize development of the sores, while applying a coating of moisturizing agents like petroleum jelly can help to prevent bleeding and cracking.
Both Denny Bodoh & Nick Clipton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Denny Bodoh has sinced written about articles on various topics from Herpes Cure, Yoga and Health. Denny Bodoh is a dedicated natural health research writer and a 35-year newspaper manager. Discover a lot more about and some amazing Cold Sore T. Denny Bodoh's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
Nick Clipton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dogs, Getting Pregnant and Teeth Whitening. Hit here to know about and visit this link for detail information. Nick Clipton's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.