Is It True Stress Causes Cold Sores?
Posted: Monday, September 03, 2007
by Denny Bodoh
http://www.3daycoldsorecure.com
An infection produced by the herpes simplex virus causes cold sores. But only 66% of those infected will get cold sores in their lifetime.
What causes cold sores to occur in some folks and not others?
In this article, you will learn the three main causes of cold sores and how to easily take control to prevent your outbreaks.
Because it lives in your nervous system, it quickly senses changes in your body. When folks want to know the causes of cold sores, what they really need to discover are the triggers that activate the herpes virus.
There are three main triggers that I want you to think about here.
1. YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTH. Under normal conditions your immune system is strong enough to keep the herpes virus contained and dormant. There are several factors that affect the health of your immune system, but the most important is the nutrients you get from food and supplements.
If you are bothered by repeated cold sore events, you need to improve your nutritional intake. The easiest way to do this, in your busy world, is by taking a good vitamin and mineral supplement. This is a must for protecting yourself today. If you get chronic cold sores, then this is a sign you are very much at risk for more serious chronic diseases.
2. THE ARGININE AND LYSINE CONNECTION. These are two amino acids (proteins) that play an important role in the replication process of the herpes simplex virus. High levels of arginine and low levels of lysine in your body are ideal for triggering cold sore activity. Arginine is an essential building block for the creation of new virus. Without sufficient arginine, new virus cannot be created, thus stopping the replication process and preventing a cold sore event.
Your nerve cells store many different amino acids for various uses. Lysine and arginine are always in competition for the same space in the cell. The more lysine, the less arginine. Lysine does not support creation of new virus. Increasing your lysine stores can prevent, or greatly reduce, cold sore outbreaks.
3. YOUR ACID OR ALKALINE pH BALANCES. Herpes simplex virus loves an acid environment for it to do its dirty work. The pH scale runs from 1 (acid) to 14 (alkaline). pH of 7 being neutral. Your body is a beautiful, fine instrument. The perfect health pH balance for the human body is 7.4. When it drops below 7, your body is turning acid and inviting disease.
Normally the body regulates this quite well and will strive to keep your pH in the 6.5 to 7.4 ranges. A balanced diet of vegetables, meats, and fruits will support this. If, however, you are drinking a lot of carbonated beverages, for example, you are causing your body to go acid.
You may have heard that stress is the primary cause of cold sores. And it is true.
Why haven't I mentioned stress until now?
Because it is not the stress that causes cold sores, but what it does to the body. When you encounter stress your body will go into a survival mode which causes it to go acid.
In addition, stress burns up large amounts of nutrients needed for a strong immune system, thus weakening your defenses. Of particular importance are the B and C vitamins, and minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium. And stress encourages the cells to store more arginine.
Some physical stress triggers that will cause cold sore outbreaks are colds, flu and fevers, sunburn, dental work, and any accidental damage to the body. Mental stress triggers may include problems with people or jobs, car accidents, or upcoming weddings.
As we have seen, the causes of cold sores are based on the condition and health of your body. We also learned why stress is blamed for causing cold sores. Hopefully this information will help you understand better the real causes of cold sores - and end cold sores in your life.
Denny Bodoh is a dedicated natural health research writer and a 35-year newspaper manager. Discover a lot more about Cold Sores and some amazing Cold Sore Treatments at Denny's popular site: http://www.3DayColdSoreCure.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)good information, I hate cold sores.Thanks asdf - cold sores definitely are a painful interuption - usually at the worst possible time.Denny Bodoh
An excellent article. I really did not know all this stuff.ThanksUtley
I am currently suffering with chronic cold sores on upper and lower lips - have had this for l6 days - have used Mupirocin, zovirax, cortizone and now Abreva - in that order for the past 2 weeks. It seems as if the Abreva may be of more help - will wait and see. I have had cold sores periodically all of my life but this time is definitely the most severe. Your article above explains clearly the causes of cold sores. Thanks so much.
Hi Maxine
Wonderful to hear from you, Maxine. And thank you so much for the 5 stars. Means a lot!
Maxine, 16 days is way too long to be suffering from a cold sore. Hopefully Abreva helps but most of the people that contact me do not have much luck with it.
You don't have to fool around with store-bought stuff when there are better choices that will get rid of your cold sores much faster.
First off, Maxine, topical remedies are only part of a good cold sore treatment plan. You need both internal and external remedies for best success.
If I were you, I would first start taking lysine. Normal dosage during a cold sore event is about 2000 to 3000 milligrams spread out each day. This is an internal remedy that works amazingly fast and well. One thing that will keep it from working as well is high consumption of grains such as breakfast cereal or baked goods. I would reduce or eliminate these from my diet for maybe just two days. Grains feed cold sores. Lysine is very safe - it is a common protein in many foods, especially fish and dairy.
The lysine will make any topical remedy work much better. Here are some topical remedies that will work better than anything you mentioned above (according to hundreds of people I have worked with).
Crushed fresh garlic mixed with EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil and baking soda makes a very powerful ointment. Garlic is amazing as an anti-virus treatment. Under a microscope, you put a spec of garlic in the middle of a round petri dish full of virus or bacteria and they will flee immediately to the outside edges. Fun to watch.
OK, so it doesn't take much to amuse me.
Also, garlic has the unique ability to pass right through the skin or scab to the virus below. The germs cannot hide from it. It chases the cold sore virus away from the area so it can heal much quicker.
The reason for mixing with extra virgin olive oil is that the garlic oil can be quite harsh and can burn sensitive skin. Besides, olive oil is also a tremendous anti-viral oil - especially when extra virgin. Adding the baking soda helps to raise the pH of the area tissue.
Some other topical remedies that work quite well include tea tree oil (cheap and available at most vitamin departments), honey (especially raw honey from the health food store), peppermint oil and coconut oil. You can mix these in any fashion, even with the garlic, to create your own powerful recipe.
Also, Maxine, cleansing the area several times a day with peroxide will itself help more than anything you mentioned. Not only is it a good cleanser, but it adds extra oxygen for much faster healing.
I really feel bad that you have suffered so long with that sore. That is no fun. Hopefully these things will help you be done with it soon.
I just touched on a few things here. There is a lot more FREE info at my 3daycoldsore web site (link at top under my name). Stop there if you have time - you don't have to buy anything or even leave your name. I would appreciate you bookmarking it if it is helpful.
Thank you so much, Maxine, for stopping by. Let me know how it goes if you get a chance.
Take care and have a great week.
Denny
This is a great a helpful article! I suffer from cold sores almost every month. They are painful and very embarrassing. I have a few job interviews this month and the last thing I need is a cold sore. I feel one coming on so after work I am going to the store to buy Lysine, garlic, and a bottle of peroxide. I have baking soda and virgin oil at home. Thanks again.Hi Mike
Great hearing from you, Mike. I am glad the article was helpful. On some of my articles the comments are better than the article - mainly because they address what is really on peoples mind, not what I think they need to know.
At any rate, sounds like you have a good plan, Mike. If you get a chance, go to my 3daycoldsore website (link to it is at top under my name) and read the new article "Repeated Cold Sores". It is free and you don't have to leave your name or anything. It will give you some ideas how to stop the cold sores from occurring so frequently. Prevention is a heck of a lot easier than healing one.
Thanks for stopping by, Mike. Stay in touch.
Denny
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