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.

COLD SORES - WHAT ARE THEY?

Cold sores really interfere with our lives. Painful and unsightly, cold sores greatly affect your personal and social life.

Whether you call them cold sores, fever blisters or oral herpes, they are all the same infection. Cold sores can appear anywhere the virus can get through your skin. The lip area is usually the first infection site.

Herpes simplex virus, either type 1 or type 2, produces all cold sores. It is a very damaging virus, as you will see.

The herpes virus enters your body wherever it is able and will choose a close-by nerve as its home for life. The cold sores created by this virus family will always be at the end of the nerve fiber it inhabits.

WHAT CAUSES A COLD SORE?

Normally latent, the herpes simplex virus hides in the root area of its nerve home. Should it get the opportunity, the virus will rush to the surface along its nerve and penetrate nerve cells there.

The herpes virus is not able to create new virus by itself. It needs your nerve cells to do the work. When a herpes virus particle enters a cell, it forces the cell to create new virus - as a true parasite.

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.

The explosion of all these cells is the cause of the gaping open wound we call a cold sore. They are very painful because the sore is located on the end of a nerve group.

ARE COLD SORES VERY CONTAGIOUS?

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.

With contaminated fingers, you can spread cold sores to any place on your body. People get these sores on fingers, necks and cheeks if the virus can get through a crack or other sore. These are usually more painful.

Do not infect your eyes. Cold sores in the eyes can happen and it often permanently affects the vision.

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.

IS THERE A GOOD WAY 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.

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.

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.

Constant cleansing of the cold sore area using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide is critical care too.

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.

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.

Tags: Skin Conditions

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