Little Known Facts About Cold Sores and Fever Blisters

By: Denny Bodoh

Many ancient diseases have all but disappeared but cold sores and fever blisters still are around - in epidemic proportions. Of the world population over 7 years old, nearly 90 out of every 100 people carry the virus that causes cold sores and fever blisters.

Cold sores and fever blisters are produced by the herpes simplex virus - both type 1 or type 2 strains. Many viruses come and go but the herpes virus is with you for life. It is a very tough virus, having survived nearly unchanged for over 2150 years.

Yes - this is a lifetime virus, but it is not life threatening. The great news is that it is usually latent - hiding in the nerve cells. Over a third of those that carry the herpes virus will never get a cold sore or fever blister. The rest of us will get about two cold sore blossoms every year.

Cold sores and fever blisters are highly contagious. Not only must you be careful not to infect someone else, but you should be extra cautious not to re-infect another spot on your own body. Wherever the virus can get through the skin, it will form a new cold sore colony there.

Perhaps you have seen a person with a cold sore covering most of the lip. This is not one cold sore but multiple sores caused by careless treatment of the first one. A cold sore on the lip will heal without a trace. Not so if you get the virus in your eye. Then you will quite likely incur permanent scarring of the cornea.

Taking effective care of a cold sore is quite easy and will dramatically reduce the risk of further spread to yourself or loved ones. The most important rule is to not touch a cold sore with your bare fingers if possible. It is most contagious from initial swelling up through final healing.

Treat your cold sore or fever blister frequently with alcohol soaked cotton swabs, tissues, or paper towels. This will protect your fingers from contamination and will kill a lot of virus. You can also use hydrogen peroxide - which adds healing oxygen. Either one may sting.

The very best solution is to prevent cold sores and fever blisters before they break out. Then you do not have to deal with all the symptoms and worries of spreading it. Actually, prevention is very possible - or at least reducing the frequency.

If you are serious about preventing cold sores, the first thing you should do is start taking an excellent quality nutritional supplement. Your stress will be greatly reduced and your immune system will be much stronger and more able to resist the cold sore virus.

Lysine is reputed to be an effective cold sore treatment as well as a possible preventative. It does work very well when used orally, but is not too effective put directly on the sore. A therapeutic dosage during (or just prior to) a cold sore event is usually 1000 milligrams to 4000 milligrams daily. A maintenance regimen would be about 500 milligrams per day.

As mentioned above, cold sores and fever blisters are caused primarily by two strains of the herpes simplex virus. You must be very cautious to avoid spreading this contagious virus to other people and to other parts of your own body - particularly your eyes.

And finally, using alcohol soaked swabs or tissues will help sterilize the cold sore and reduce the risk of passing it on. Keeping the immune system strong by taking a good nutritional supplement may be, like others have found, all you need to prevent future cold sores and fever blisters.

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Check out these little known cold sore remedy tactics at Denny Bodoh's excellent web-site. You will find great facts and uncover a few proven cures for your cold sores.

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