What Are Cold Sores And How To Cope With Your Cold Sore
If you have questions about cold sores, read this short article now. You will quickly see what cold sores are and what damage they can do to you.
WHAT ARE COLD SORES?
Cold sores really interfere with our lives. Painful and unsightly, cold sores greatly affect your personal and social life.
Cold Sores are the exact same sore as fever blisters and oral herpes. They appear and reappear at the site of initial infection. The lip area is the most frequent infection site.
The herpes simplex virus is the culprit that is responsible for your cold sore outbreak. The cold sore is the collateral damage caused by the herpes reproduction process.
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 CAUSES 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.
As the cells fill up they balloon causing visible swelling of the cold sore site. The control virus will destroy the cell when it is full or exhausted. This will spill out hoards of new 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 virus is so tiny, many of them can hide in a single cell. This parasite virus enters your body by soft tissue contact like the lip or inside the nose. You are extremely contagious when the virus is actively creating a cold sore.
Kissing is the most common way to infect others. Contaminated fingers can cause new cold sore sites on you and others too. Please be very cautious. Sterilize the wound and your hands constantly.
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.
Be especially careful not to infect your eyes. A cold sore on the cornea will cause serious injury.
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.
HOW CAN I GET RID OF MY COLD SORES?
Stress activates the herpes simplex virus. It is probably the number one cold sore trigger. Stress makes your body acid because of hormonal changes. This acid environment encourages herpes virus replication.
Your body knows how to heal cold sores and oral herpes without a bit of help from you. But it can take three to four weeks. A good, natural cold sore treatment plan can cut the duration time by 70%.
You will find the greatest success in fighting cold sores with natural home-type cold sore treatment remedies. They have proven to out-perform prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies - and for much less money.
Some of the best cold sore treatment tactics include lysine, garlic oil and zinc. Although lysine and zinc work best internally (supplements), all three can be used topically as well.
It is critical for you to keep sterilizing the cold sore area with alcohol or peroxide - using 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.
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