Cold Sore Treatment

As a rule, no, cold sores are not incredibly dangerous. Still, while they may not be life-threatening, they do still represent a danger. One issue with these is that they are created by the herpes simplex virus. A new cold sore is created when the herpes virus enters your body’s healthy cells. It makes these cells create new copies of the virus, spreading it through your body. When too many of these viruses build up in one location, they explode into a cold sore.

One of the most dangerous aspects of a cold sore is the fact that it is incredibly contagious. It remains contagious during the entire two or three weeks that they are visible. Any one who comes in contact with the fluid that leaks out of the sore has a very large chance of being infected, and once infected, they can never be rid of the virus. The virus will also be present in all of your bodily fluids, including semen, vaginal fluids, and saliva.

If you are pregnant, the cold sore presents another danger. Because the virus is present in vaginal fluids, doctors will not allow you to have a vaginal delivery. This is because it is possible the baby could become infected with herpes during birth. In fact, the baby could actually get herpes in his or her eyes, a very real threat that could cause blindness.

Cold sores in the eyes, in fact, can cause permanent damage to anyone, not simply babies. If the sores spread to your eyes, you may find yourself facing permanent blindness as they can damage your cornea. While cold sores don’t often appear on the eyes naturally, the virus can move to your eyes if you wipe your eyes with a towel or your fingers after touching it.

As you can see, a cold sore can indeed be very dangerous, especially if you aren’t careful. You should do your best to keep your hands clean; wash them frequently, especially if you touch the area around your cold sore.

Find out more about cold sores and the effect they could have on peoples lives, as well as learning about various cold sore treatments by clicking on one of the links and visiting our site.

Cold sores usually start the same way – first a little painful spot under the skin like a blind pimple. Sometimes there’s a painful tingling a couple of days before, which is called the prodrome. This usually explodes into a puss-filled blister (or group of blisters) that lasts for a lovely seven to ten days.

Since cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus, they’re always going to come back. They’re also highly contagious, mostly during outbreaks. Sharing towels, utensils or shaving razors with someone who has an active fever blister is a great way to contract the herpes simplex virus forever. Cold sores are at their most contagious from the time they first appear until they have crusted over completely and are no longer seeping.

Most of the time, an outbreak will just clear up on their own. That doesn’t mean you can speed up the process with a dose of a soothing topical cream, but it does mean that there’s probably not any reason to go to a doctor for them unless symptoms are incredibly severe, last more than two weeks, or are incredibly frequent. Occasionally, you may also feel irritation in your eyes – seek medical treatment immediately if this happens as herpes simplex can cause scaring in the cornea that results in blindness.

If you have a outbreak, you should be sure to avoid contact with people who have compromised immune systems, like those with cancer or AIDS. You should also avoid contact with babies, as they may contract a more serious infection if they are exposed to the virus.

Antiviral treatments are available, but are typically most effective if used very early. They can shorten the duration a little. Most cold sore creams are simply soothing and make waiting out the blisters a little more pleasant.

Megan is the Web editor for Overstock Drugstore, an online pharmacy that offers great deals and great service on health and beauty products you use every day, including abreva fever blister treatment. Overstock Drugstore believes in offering the best products and the best service, including a help line that goes to a person every time. To learn more, visit http://www.overstockdrugstore.com.

Cold sores and nutrients can and do go hand in hand as there is a definite link between nutrients and the severity of these sores. For anyone that gets cold sores on any type of a regular basis, you are all to familiar with the fact that they seem to not only reoccur frequently, but they seem to occur at almost the exact same spot every time.

They are not only unsightly and embarrassing; they are also very painful and can make any activity that you perform with your mouth very difficult, especially eating or drinking. To make matters worse, once you have become infected, you can never again be totally free of this vicious virus. However, you certainly can reduce the attacks and in some cases, prevent a lot of the pain.

Cold sores, also referred to as fever blisters, are small blisters that attack your lips or anywhere around your mouth where it is moist. They cause the skin that surrounds them to become both very sore as well as swollen. They also often break open and produce a clear leaking fluid that results in a scab. Depending on how severe they are, they will last from several days to several weeks in come cases.

Cold sores are not like a common viral infection that can be eliminated, but are instead caused by what is known as herpes simplex virus or HSV. There are two forms of HSV; type I and type II. If you where to examine the two different types under a microscope, they would look almost exactly the same. However, it is the type I form that causes cold sores.

Both forms of HSV attack and infect your body’s mucosal surfaces and will affect either the lips or the area around the mouth, or the genitals. Type I affects your mouth. Once they affect either area, this virus than establishes latency in the nervous system. Latency is often referred to as a delay in the nervous system and this can be best illustrated by the fact that this virus can remain silent and than reoccur at any time.

This virus reacts differently in people in that some people may have absolutely no symptoms or very mild symptoms, while other will constantly be attacked several times a year. To compound this infection, it is extremely contagious and can very easily be spread by kissing someone that is infected, or by coming in contact with their saliva.

It can also be spread simply by close contact in what otherwise appears as very normal skin. When the cold sores are in the blistering stage they are at the peak of being contagious. The risk subsides once the blisters have begun to scab up, however, it can still be spread.

Triggering Cold Sores:

Once you become infected with this virus, it enters into your nerve cells and immediately travels up the nerves until it find what is referred to as a ganglion which is a biological tissue mass. It is there that it sits and waits in a dormant stage until it is triggered to attack. No one is exactly sure what actually triggers it, but once triggered it travels back down the nerve and attacks the lips or mouth area again, usually very near or in the same place as the original attack.

However, there are some conditions that seem to be commonly associated with cold sores. Fevers and colds can set them off, as well as the flu and this is the reason they are also referred to as fever blisters. In some people, over exposure to ultraviolet light seems to trigger them. Stress and trauma to the skin, especially the areas around the mouth, also seem to be a common denominator.

However, perhaps the largest common cause that is associated with cold sores is any change in your immune system, a weakening of the immune system, lack of certain nutrients, and hormonal changes such as menstruation. However, there is one very large misconception; cold sores can not be spread by towels or wash cloths.

Fighting and Prevention:

Once you have become infected with this virus, it is virtually impossible to get it out of your system. But that does not mean that you have no defense against cold sores. Vitamin C and the mineral zinc are extremely effective at not only fighting cold sores, but preventing them from reoccurring as often, both of which are objectives once you have this silent beast of a virus that is waiting to attack you.

However, Lysine, which is an essential amino acid, may provide the best results.

Vitamin C, combined with bioflavonoids is extremely effective at fighting cold sores. Both of these forms of nutrients are well known for battling colds and the flu, but they are also very potent in building your immune system. Combined, they are even more effective as they inhibit the progression of this virus.

If you suffer from reoccurring cold sores, you can sense when they are starting to occur as you can feel them developing in or around your lips and mouth. They may not be visible just yet, but you know they are coming. Taking Vitamin C and a bioflavonoid supplement daily are recommended once you have become infected, but when you feel them coming, you need to step up the dosage.

1000 mg. of Vitamin C as well as bioflavonoids is highly recommended for the first few days when you feel the tingling, and than you can cut back to 500 milligrams three times a day for another 3 to 4 days after the initial tingling on both supplements.

These two nutrients should inhibit the severity and the duration, but you may still get mild forms of cold sores. If you do, the mineral zinc in an ointment form can drastically speed up the drying process and as a result they will heal much quicker. Zinc can in most cases speed up the healing process by as much as 40 percent.

Witch hazel also provides a lot of relief from the developing pain as well as placing lemon balm extract on the area that is affected as it is extremely high in flavonoids.

Lysine, an essential amino acid, can be found abundantly in milk, potatoes, fish, beans and chicken, but it is also recommended as a supplement form along with Vitamin C as soon as the tingling starts. This amino acid also suppresses the herpes simplex virus and the best defense is 500 milligrams daily once you fell the tingling until it has completely dissipated.

Summary:
Once you have become infected with this wicked virus, you can never get it out of your system and cold sores will attack you in some form your entire life. But you can certainly significantly reduce the pain and the duration, and in some cases, even stop it before it begins with Vitamin C, Lysine, and Zinc.

But there is one other factor. The inverse of Lysine is called arginine, which is also an amino acid that is found in some foods. It is also believed to both trigger the attack and increase the severity. If you suffer from cold sores, be very timid about beer, peanuts, raisins, and peas as they are all rich in this amino acid.

I am an avid lover of pets and my wife and I have had several pets throughout our years. We are especially fond of dogs, and we have a 12 year old Dalmatian (our 3rd) and a “mutt” that we rescued when someone threw him away to die in a vacant field. He found us, nearly starved to death, and weighed about 2 pounds. After severe bouts of mange and severe dehydration, and over 1,000.00 in veterinarian bills, we saved the little guys life, and he is one of the best, if not the best, dogs we have ever had and today is a muscular, fit, and firm 70 pound best friend.

After finishing my MBA, which at middle age was not easy, I decided to keep the research work ethics that I acquired, and devote about two hours each night in understanding the health benefits of supplementation for both humans and pets and how they might strengthen our, as well as our pets, immune system in a pre-emptive approach to health rather than a reactionary approach.

Both of my daughters are avid cat lovers, and asked me to help them with health concerns and challenges with their cats. I am not a veterinarian nor claim to be, just a lover of pets that loves to research and pass on some knowledge that might be helpful, or at least stimulating to the thought process. Several of the articles that I have written can be found on my website; Liquid Vitamins & Minerals for Humans & Pets http://www.liquid-vitamins-minerals-humans-pets.com/