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 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 give you a better idea what causes cold sores and end cold sores in your life.