Cold Sore Prevention
There is no such thing as cold sore prevention because the herpes simplex virus is involved. This virus lives in the body and whenever you get ill, it can flare up and cause cold sores, also known as fever blisters. Without treatment, the sores take between 8 and 10 days to heal.
Millions of people suffer with fever blisters every year. They usually appear on the lips and around the mouth. Apart from illness, other factors like stress, over-exposure to the sun, fever, hormonal changes, refined sugar, fatigue, and a weak immune system can cause them.
The symptoms are itching, discomfort, swelling, and redness, accompanied by oozing lesions that form yellow scabs. Treatment includes a variety of topical lotions, balms, and gels, as well as Vitamin C and natural therapies like laser-puncture and acupuncture. Apart from these, there are some steps you can take to minimize outbreaks.
The virus is extremely contagious and it can be spread through the sharing of food utensils and cups or glasses. Therefore, the first step is to avoid having skin contact with an infected person. If you have a weak immune system, the virus can even be transmitted through skin contact.
Avoid kissing anyone with fever blisters. Also, do not kiss that person’s close family members. Step up your hygiene practices by washing your hands frequently with an antibacterial soap. If you are the person infected, don’t touch your body parts before washing your hands. This will prevent the infection spreading to other areas.
The most effective cold sore prevention is to boost the immune system. All the factors mentioned earlier that cause fever blisters have one thing in common, i.e. a weakened immune system. You can do this by getting good quality sleep, eating protein-rich foods, and drinking plenty of water. Avoid coffee, refined sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, and junk food. Lastly, and most importantly, eat lots of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables. They are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and fibre.
Treat Cold Sores & Prevent The Spread Of Herpes Simplex
How would you feel if having looked in the mirror and seen that you have cold sores, and at that point you realize that you can’t even give your children a kiss on the cheek? Or it’s the same when you go on a romantic vacation with your lover, knowing you can’t touch them with your lips in any intimate way because those cold sores aren’t completely healed just yet. These feelings are truly heartbreaking. The Herpes virus (cold sores) brings with it a lot of irritation and heart break, but the risk of passing on this annoying problem to others around them, is the biggest concern for most sufferers.
The spread of Herpes is a very serious concern, especially when you are talking about cold sores which many sufferers do not completely understand. If you are unfortunate to find yourself infected with this virus, it is important that you play your part in the prevention of the spread of the virus by learning about the stages of an outbreak, when you are, and when you are not contagious, and of course most importantly, how you can treat cold sores in the long term to prevent future outbreaks.
Stages of a Cold Sore Outbreak
This is the first thing you have to completely explore after being diagnosed with Herpes Simplex Virus 1. There are very clear phases of each and every outbreak, starting with the tingling sensation that tells you the cold sores are on their way and ending with the scabbed over crusty sores that eventually trail off and disappear.
You will find that as you learn about the various stages of an outbreak you will also learn about different cold sore treatment options that can potentially lessen the duration of an outbreak. You will also learn very critical information about how to prevent the spread of the virus by avoiding contact with others during critical phases of the outbreak.
Starting with those tingling sensations that tell you an outbreak is on the way, and on through the entire outbreak, it is advised that to be completely safe, you keep your mouth away from others.
Preventing Cold Sores
Once you have educated yourself on how cold sore outbreaks work and are up to date on how to prevent any outbreaks you may have right now and in the near future from spreading to those you love, it’s time to start learning about potential cold sore treatment options that could prevent future outbreaks.
It is unfortunate but true that you can never completely get rid of the virus. The virus will always be there, lurking under the skin, presenting an ever-present risk of an outbreak. Yet, you can control the way you live your life and prevent cold sores from overtaking your life.
How to Treat Cold Sores
Finally, learning how to treat cold sores is absolutely vital to controlling its spread. By preventing your own outbreaks from surfacing on your face, you will have far less to worry about in avoiding passing on the virus to others around you. You will be able to kiss your loved ones and have an active sex life without worry if the blisters are not present!
In the end, reducing the spread of Herpes really comes down to preventing and controlling active outbreaks for people who already have the virus. If you have the virus it is your absolute duty to learn how to treat cold sores effectively and reduce their appearance. That is the only way to stop the spread of the virus.
How to Use Cold Sore Prevention to Stop Them Before They Start
There is still no cold sore prevention for the herpes simplex virus. Sad to say, once you acquire the virus, it does not leave your system. It hides in infected nerve cells and waits for an opportunity to reproduce itself when certain triggers make it active. As a result, outbreaks of cold sores appear on your skin.
For cold sore prevention you should:
1. Know what triggers the virus and take the necessary actions to avoid these triggers.
2. Maintain a balanced diet supplemented with L-lysine and other vitamins to keep your immune system healthy.
3. Avoid personal contact with an infected person.
TRIGGERS
There are several Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) triggers. Some of the main ones are:
1. Exposure to sun and wind
2. Stress
3. Hormones
4. Experiencing a cold or the flu
When exposed to sun and wind, the lips and skin become dry and burned which can result in an outbreak. By protecting your lips and face from the elements, for example, with an appropriate sunscreen, you can improve cold sore prevention.
High stress levels also cause outbreaks. When you are stressed out, your body burns a lot of nutrients which your immune system needs. This in turn weakens your defences against the herpes virus. Doing yoga, getting a massage, meditating, or doing any personal relaxing activity can help keep your stress levels low.
If you can manage stress well, you’re already working on cold sore prevention.
Changes in the body’s hormones such as menstruation for women or puberty in boys can trigger cold sores.
People who are prone to outbreaks frequently develop them after experiencing a cold or the flu. When your immune system is weakened you easily get sick. The virus takes advantage of this situation and overpowers the antibodies that help in cold sore prevention. Your immune system usually prevents the virus from reproducing itself until it is compromised by one of the triggers.
BALANCED DIET
A balanced diet with high L-lysine content will help in cold sore prevention. Lysine inhibits the metabolism of Arginine – an amino acid that the herpes virus needs in order for it to reproduce.
It is wise to avoid foods with high Arginine content. But if you can’t avoid these foods, be conscious of the ratio of lysine to Arginine in your food intake. Try to eat more foods containing lysine or better yet, take L-lysine supplements.
Not only does L-lysine help in cold sore prevention, but some vitamins and minerals have a significantly positive effect on the body’s immune system.
Zinc’s ability to enhance cell mediated immunity can reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of cold sore outbreaks. (Cell mediated immunity is the power of the cell to fight a virus without the aid of antibodies) Bioflavonoids help cold sore prevention due to their excellent immune boosting and antioxidant qualities.
By maintaining a healthy lifestyle of low stress and wise nutrition, you avoid getting sick and your immune system is not compromised.
AVOID DIRECT CONTACT
If you are not infected by the herpes simplex virus, cold sore prevention is much easier. You can avoid acquiring it by not coming in direct contact with a person having an active cold sore breakout.
The virus is highly contagious in this condition. If you accidentally come in contact with the cold sore, wash the area immediately with soap and warm water. Avoid sharing objects (like utensils, napkins etc.) that come into contact with a person who has a cold sore.
It is possible that the virus is present in those objects and using them would transmit the virus to you.
For those who want to practice cold sore prevention, educating oneself about the Herpes Simplex Virus-1 triggers, eating healthy, taking L-lysine supplements and avoiding contact with those who experience cold sores are excellent steps in cold sore prevention.
If you already have the HSV-1 Virus you may be able to control outbreaks and even stop cold sores before they start.
How To Prevent Cold Sores By Improving Your Immune System
Luckily, we can improve the effectiveness of our immune systems both naturally by making changes to our diets and making certain lifestyle changes as well as via supplementation or by taking certain vitamins and herbs.
As a first step, I suggest you take a look at your lifestyle and habits to determine which of any actions you might be taking that could be impairing your immune system. Seek to change them where you can, at whatever pace you are comfortable taking but DO move towards eliminating those things in your life that may be impeding the full functioning of your own immune system.
Try avoiding the above triggers, for example stress or better, learning to react to stressful situations in a calmer manner. Stress is one of the greatest enemies of the immune system but we all know how difficult it can be to avoid altogether. Learn to relax more, breathe deeply, meditate, listen to calming music, take a bath or a walk or learn to paint. All of these things can alleviate the stress you may feel from time to time and when stressful events DO occur, you’ll be better equipped to deal with them.
Avoid as much as you can, sugars including sucrose, honey and even fruit juices. Just 3 ounces of sugar in any of these forms has shown to reduce white cell activity by 50% for one to up to five hours! One of sugar’s major dangers is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid cold sores. When you eat sugar, imagine your immune system slowing down to a crawl.
Avoid pesticides as much as possible by purchasing organic foods. Avoid chemicals around your home including cleaning agents, the best you can. Even a diet we consider healthy may be improved by just a small amount of help. As an example, in a study of 96 healthy adults given either a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement or placebo, the supplemented group had an amazing 50% decrease in the number of days of illness due to infection, and 8 or 12 measures of immune function improvement.
Preventing Mouth Cold Sore Symptoms
Ever get that tingling and burning sensation on your mouth? Then the ugly and painful blister appears. You have to walk around for weeks with it on your face. If you have ever suffered from an embarrassing and painful cold sore, then you probably know exactly what I am talking about.
You have probably spent countless hours searching for mouth cold sore treatments that work. These sores are called cold sores, and are a form of the herpes simplex virus, so there is no cure for them. Fortunately, there are some ways to stop them from occurring. You can also keep them from returning too.
Below are three simple and fast mouth cold sore prevention techniques.
Mouth Cold Sore Prevention Tip 1 – Avoid Sun
The sun does not discriminate, and can burn anyone that does not wear sunscreen; it is especially harmful for people with cold sores. If you are going to be exposed to the sun for a long time, always wear a good and high SPF sunscreen or lip balm on your lips. The sun will make a cold sore and the herpes virus become active. Using the proper sunscreen will help prevent a cold sore from forming.
Mouth Cold Sore Prevention Tip 2 – Eat a Healthy Diet
Diets always play a factor in not only cold sore prevention, but in your overall health as well. If you don’t have the time or the desire to create nutritious meals then you owe it to yourself to at least add a multi-vitamin to your daily diet. To help with mouth cold sore prevention you need to take vitamins that contain the ingredient Lysine, as it is proven cold sore fighter. Also, cut back on greasy fast food and add more protein to your diet. These things will build up your immunity system, which makes your body stronger so it can fight cold sores successfully.
Mouth Cold Sore Prevention Tip 3 – Stress Reduction
Stress is most often the main cause of cold sore outbreaks. Stress affects your overall health, your mental state, and cold sores. You need to get the proper amount of rest every night. If you do not, your immune system will become weakened, and you will not be able to fight off cold sores. Try to avoid stressful situations. You can perform stress relaxation techniques and stress-relief exercises, or just taking a peaceful walk can help reduce stress. This will help your overall health and possibly reduce cold sore outbreaks also.
There is no sure way to completely stop a mouth cold sore from happening, but these three simple and quick tips can help you in the prevention of outbreaks. There are also many cold sore home treatments available that can help speed up the healing process and alleviate the pain, when you feel a cold sore occurring.