Health and Fitness – Fitness Made Easy

Cold sores are usually caused by the Herpes Simplex Type 1  Virus.  A tingling sensation around your mouth heralds the sores imminent arrival, usually within a day or two.  The blister swells,  bursts,  oozes fluid,  crusts over and fades,  often in  7  to 10 days.

Common triggers of a new outbreak include sunlight,  stress,  menstruation and fatigue.

The goal of every cold sore victim is to make sure that those sore and unsightly blisters are absent a lot more than they’re present.  Once you have the virus,  you need to mount a consistent campaign to discourage flare-ups. Once you have learned to recognize the tell-tale tingling or burning sensation that notifies you of a cold sore imminent arrival,  you can help it with your defensive home remedies.

First aid for cold sores

• Apply ice directly to the sore.  It will bring down the swelling and ease the pain temporarily.  If you do this early enough – at the first sign of tingling- you may end up with a smaller sore than you otherwise would have.
• The results of one study suggests that taking 150 mg of  aspirin a day ( 2 tablets )  can cut the time a herpes infection remains active by 50%.

Vanquish the virus

• Some studies have fund the amino acid  lysine helpful as a healer for cold sores.  When you have an outbreak,  take  3000 mg a day until the sore goes away.  Research has shown that it thwarts the replication  (copying)  of the herpes virus.
• Herbal healers commonly recommend lemon balm to treat herpes simplex type 1.  Its essential oils contain substances that have been shown to inhabit the virus. In some studies people with recurrent cold sores who used a lemon balm ointment regularly had less frequent outbreaks,  or stopped developing the sores altogether.  Lemon balm ointment may be found in health- food shops or you can buy it on-line.
• Dab the sore with a tincture of  myrrh on a  cotton bud up to 10 times a day.  Myrrh directly attacks the virus that causes herpes.  You’ll find myrrh in health-food shops.
• Blend  tea tree oil with an equal amount of oil and apply it to the sore two or three times a day. Tea tree oil is a powerful natural antiseptic.

• Buy an over-the-counter antiviral cream -  aciclovir (Zovirax)  or  penciclovir (Fenistil ) are both very effective.  As soon as you feel the tingle of an oncoming cold sore, start using the cream.  Apply the cream five times a day for five days.
• Dab on some vinegar a few times a day as vinegar is acidic and viruses do not do well in an acidic environment.

Boast your defences

• During an attach,  take  300mg   capsule of  echinacea four times a day.  Studies have shown that the herb can boost your immune system’s ability to fight of the virus.
• Take  1000 mg  of the immune – boosting  flavoniod  (plant pigment)  quercetin each day in divided doses.

The power of prevention

• If you get more than 3  cold sores a year,  you might benefit from taking a daily lysine supplement as a preventative. The recommended dose is  500mg   a day.
• Stay away from foods rich in  arginine,  an essential amino acid that the herpes virus needs in order to thrive.  If  you want to take maximum precautions to avoid an outbreak,  avoid  chocolate,  cola,  beer,  peas,  nuts (peanuts,cashews,almonds and walnuts),  gelatin and whole grain cereals.

Give cold sores the brush-off

• As the virus that causes herpes is carried in saliva,  keep your toothbrush in a dry place, preferably on an open shelf where it’s exposed to circulating air and sunlight.  If it means keeping it outside the bathroom,  so be it.  A damp toothbrush in a moist bathroom is an invitation for viral breeding.  Buy a small tube of toothpaste and a new toothbrush during an outbreak, then throw them away.
• Take 15mg  of  zinc each day, studies have shown that this nutrient has blocked the replication of this virus.  Zinc also boosts the immune system and fortifies the surface tissue on your lips and on the inside of the mouth.
• Use a lip balm that contains a sun protection factor of at least  15.
• Cold sores are contagious, so don’t kiss your partner if either of you has a cold sore.  Direct contact with the saliva of an infected person is usually necessary to pass the virus on,  but if anyone in your house has cold sores don’t mix up flannels, towels or drinking glasses.
• When you have a cold sore avoid touching your eyes.  Transmitting the virus to your eyes can cause a nasty infection that could damage your eyesight. 

Roberto Garcia (Health and Fitness Specialist)
http://www.newhealthandfitnessdvds.co.uk

Specialist provider of Health and Fitness information and products including: DVDs and Supplements.

Tags: blisters, Cold Sores, Fatigue, herpes simplex Type 1 Virus, stress, tingling or burning sensation

This entry was posted on Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Medical, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.