8 Critical Cold Sore Stages
Posted: Thursday, December 01, 2005
by Denny Bodoh
http://www.3daycoldsorecure.com
Let's look at the 8 distinct cold sore stages, and what you can do now to lessen the severity, discomfort and length of your cold sore event.
Cold sore stages 2-8 are the active stages and you are very contagious during this time. Usually 3 to 4 weeks is the average life-span of a cold sore. Much depends on your health and choice of treatments for each of your cold sore stages.
COLD SORE STAGE: #1 - LATENT - Here the herpes simplex virus (also referred to as the cold sore virus) is hiding in the nerve ganglia near the back of the jaw on the same side as your sore usually appears.
Cold sore stages 2-8 are the active stages and you are very contagious during this time. Usually 3 to 4 weeks is the average life-span of a cold sore. Much depends on your health and choice of treatments for each of your cold sore stages.
COLD SORE STAGE: #1 - LATENT - Here the herpes simplex virus (also referred to as the cold sore virus) is hiding in the nerve ganglia near the back of the jaw on the same side as your sore usually appears.
Your cold sore virus may "sleep" for weeks or years without incident. Your body's defense "soldiers" keep them in check. When there is stress in another part of your body, the defenses may drop at this location. Then the virus may wake up and travel to the surface to replicate.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 2 - PRODROME - The cold sore virus reproductive cycle begins here. The cold sore virus travels down your nerve fibers to the surface. This movement causes your cold sore target area to itch or tingle. You may even notice a burning or dryness sensation. This stage could last a few hours to a few days before entering the more intense cold sore stages.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 3 - INFLAMMATION Your cold sore virus has now arrived at the surface and begins it's reproductive cycle by entering the cells at the end of the nerve. This causes a lot of swelling and redness at the cold sore site as your cells react to being invaded by the herpes cold sore virus .
COLD SORE STAGE: # 4 - PRE-SORE - Cold sores at this stage are defined by the appearance of cold sore vesicles. A full blown cold sore is not one big blister but a grouping of small blisters called vesicles. You will notice these vesicles as tiny, hard pimples or red bumps that are painfully sensitive to the touch.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 5 - OPEN SORE - Your most painful and contagious of the cold sore stages. All the vesicles break open and merge to create one big open, weeping sore. Depending on the severity, you may develop a fever and swollen lymph glands under the jaw.
The weeping fluid is teaming with newly born cold sore viruses. Touching this fluid, you could easily spread the cold sore virus to another part of your own body or to someone else - either by direct touch or shared objects such as hand towels, telephones, and faucets.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 6 - CRUSTING - A cold sore will develop a yellowish crust or scab as it begins to finally start the healing process. Your cold sore is still painful at this stage. More painful, however, is the constant cracking of your cold sore scab when you move or stretch your lips, as in smiling.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 7- HEALING - Cold sores, once scabbed over, begin healing from the inside out. As new skin forms under the crust, you will experience continued itching, irritation and some pain. Your cold sore virus is now retreating back to the nerve ganglia area where it will sleep until the next opportunity.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 8 - POST SCAB - Cold sores at this stage no longer have a visible cold sore scab and your skin has healed.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 2 - PRODROME - The cold sore virus reproductive cycle begins here. The cold sore virus travels down your nerve fibers to the surface. This movement causes your cold sore target area to itch or tingle. You may even notice a burning or dryness sensation. This stage could last a few hours to a few days before entering the more intense cold sore stages.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 3 - INFLAMMATION Your cold sore virus has now arrived at the surface and begins it's reproductive cycle by entering the cells at the end of the nerve. This causes a lot of swelling and redness at the cold sore site as your cells react to being invaded by the herpes cold sore virus .
COLD SORE STAGE: # 4 - PRE-SORE - Cold sores at this stage are defined by the appearance of cold sore vesicles. A full blown cold sore is not one big blister but a grouping of small blisters called vesicles. You will notice these vesicles as tiny, hard pimples or red bumps that are painfully sensitive to the touch.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 5 - OPEN SORE - Your most painful and contagious of the cold sore stages. All the vesicles break open and merge to create one big open, weeping sore. Depending on the severity, you may develop a fever and swollen lymph glands under the jaw.
The weeping fluid is teaming with newly born cold sore viruses. Touching this fluid, you could easily spread the cold sore virus to another part of your own body or to someone else - either by direct touch or shared objects such as hand towels, telephones, and faucets.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 6 - CRUSTING - A cold sore will develop a yellowish crust or scab as it begins to finally start the healing process. Your cold sore is still painful at this stage. More painful, however, is the constant cracking of your cold sore scab when you move or stretch your lips, as in smiling.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 7- HEALING - Cold sores, once scabbed over, begin healing from the inside out. As new skin forms under the crust, you will experience continued itching, irritation and some pain. Your cold sore virus is now retreating back to the nerve ganglia area where it will sleep until the next opportunity.
COLD SORE STAGE: # 8 - POST SCAB - Cold sores at this stage no longer have a visible cold sore scab and your skin has healed.
But use caution - under your new skin, healing is still taking place as the destroyed cells are regenerated. This produces a reddish area that may linger for another 2 to 14 days - depending on your personal healing speed.
You are still contagious until this red spot disappears. This waiting is the most frustrating of the cold sore stages.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW -
Cold sore over-the-counter medications, experts agree, are primarily comfort treatments for the cold sore stages. Some contain numbing agents that greatly reduce your pain. Some cold sore medications contain an anti-bacterial to prevent secondary infections.
None of these store-bought remedies have been shown to actually shorten the life-span of your cold sore stages.
Medical science has been working feverishly on a cure for the herpes virus but have not, as yet, had any real success in developing an effective cold sore remedy.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW -
Cold sore over-the-counter medications, experts agree, are primarily comfort treatments for the cold sore stages. Some contain numbing agents that greatly reduce your pain. Some cold sore medications contain an anti-bacterial to prevent secondary infections.
None of these store-bought remedies have been shown to actually shorten the life-span of your cold sore stages.
Medical science has been working feverishly on a cure for the herpes virus but have not, as yet, had any real success in developing an effective cold sore remedy.
Prescription anti-virals, both the oral versions and the topical salves, have been a dismal failure for the most part. Vaccines are being tested but are 3-4 years out yet. New breakthroughs could be just around the corner however.
But you don't need to wait!
More and more doctors now agree. There are times when natural remedies just seem to be the best choice. Often our ONLY choice. This is definitely true - right now - for cold sores.
Data studies have shown natural home remedies can reduce the cold sore events by as much as 79%. Not so with commercial cold sore remedies.
Yes! And, in fact, these home remedies can actually prevent your cold sores from taking place at all.
But you don't need to wait!
More and more doctors now agree. There are times when natural remedies just seem to be the best choice. Often our ONLY choice. This is definitely true - right now - for cold sores.
Data studies have shown natural home remedies can reduce the cold sore events by as much as 79%. Not so with commercial cold sore remedies.
Yes! And, in fact, these home remedies can actually prevent your cold sores from taking place at all.
If you are a cold sore victim, you would be well advised to look into these powerful natural remedies without delay for shortening or eliminating all your cold sore stages.
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Denny Bodoh is a newspaper manager and 38 year veteran health research writer. If you would like to know more about Cold Sore Treatment, cold sore stages and what you can do to get rid of cold sores fast, visit his excellent web site at:
http://www.be-cold-sore-free.com/
This Article has been viewed 164,672 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsHi Denny,
I recently had a pimple that I popped because it was white and sore. About two days later I developed a cluster close to the pimple. I had an earache, body aches, and mild sinus congestion, and difficulty sleeping the night prior to its appearance. It's not on my lip but about 2 cm away from my lip. At first I was sure it wasn't a cold sore because of its location. But now I know it was. I'm now at the 7th stage where it has stabbed. I had to work last night and quickly got it to that stage by using alcohol pads throughout my shift. Then as the final blow, leaving an alcohol pad on that spot for ten minutes or so just pressing it into my skin. A couple hours later it was dark red and scabby. I came home, thoroughly washed my face and applied my lysine/zinc lip cream on it. When I woke up, the wound was moist, and yellowish much like a healing wound. After four hours sleep I awoke and applied hydrogen peroxide to clean wound, then waited about an hour for it to feel dried out.
Next is where is would like to know what to do to speed this part up. All spots have a scab. I've been alternating emu oil and peroxide. I'm ready for bed and wondering what to apply overnight to speed healing. In addition for my quest to get this monster off my cheek, I've taken about 2000 mg of Lysine, b complex, zinc, mag, calcium and my hair, skin and nails vitamins.
I have a few questions regarding cold sores... Given your knowledge might be useful. I often know my triggers but sometimes unavoidable. I drink caffeine daily, work night shift, and a single mom of three after a divorce. I know stress, lack of sleep, etc can increase my risk, but in this case almost unavoidable. I've been doing a lot of reading about acid/alkaline diets and how an acidic internal environment in the body can trigger illness and be horrible for the immune system. Have you heard of any of this in relation to cold sores? I also know about the arginineHi Nurse Mom
It is wonderful to hear from you. Sounds like you really have your hands full - 3 kids and a full time nurse too. Yes, you definitely know what stress is all about. Sounds like you handle it quite well.
The supplements you are taking are very smart. Internal treatment like this is very important and most people miss that. I hope the lysine/zinc lip cream provides a absorbable zinc sulfate form. I just had a person using zinc oxide which is mainly a surface protectant and not much value for cold sores.
Yes, Nurse Mom, you are right-on-the-money with the acid/alkaline connection with many diseases. And, yes, it is one of the main triggers for cold sores, I believe. 7.35 to 7.4 on the pH scale is considered optimal alkalinity. At this level, the tissue is able to also have highest level of oxygen saturation. Just a slight drop to about 7.1 and the oxygen saturation drops by about 30%. Stress can cause your body pH to drop due to hormone and chemical changes.
A low pH is an invitation for virus and bacterial activity. You are exactly right - there is not much we can do about stress in our lives, it is part of life sometimes, AS YOU WELL KNOW. But, we can do a lot about the effects of stress, which is the rapid acidification of your body. That is where we can really make a difference with repeated or severe cold sores.
I have been addressing this on my 3daycoldsore website (at top under my name) having just posted a new article about how to prevent REPEATED COLD SORES. Check it out if you have time - no cost or product hype or anything.
As a nurse, you will greatly benefit from optimizing yourself against all those virus and bacterial exposures at work by keeping your alkalinity up.
Really nice that you stopped by, Nurse Mom. Thank you so much and thanks for the 5 stars too. I hope things get better for you real fast.
Take care
Denny
Hello Danny, I unfortunate have been dealing with tring to heal this cold sore for about 3 weeks now. During my scabing stage while I would cleanse it with peroxide the light film of scab kept falling off until I switched to alcohol and tea trea oil and kept it dry now the hard yellow dry scab fell off leaving me with a pink scar that every now in then when I clean it there's a light film still that comes right off. Ive also been taking acyl.. Px since the 2 nd day of this out break, n now I'm taking lysin , vitamin e and zinc but not sure if this is normal? PLEASE help !Hey Lenny
Great to hear from you, Lenny. You've been battling this sore for 3 weeks? Obviously that prescription acyclovir is not working for you anymore. The virus must be immune to it. That is the trouble with those artificial drugs - we have to keep coming up with new ones when the old ones don't work anymore. I would quit taking it as you are just stressing your liver for no benefit at all.
No one should have cold sores that long with what we know today.
Yes, Lenny, that is normal to have fresh pink skin after the scab sheds. The light film you refer to is also normal but be careful. This film is part of the healing process but quite likely also contains active virus particles. Keep cleansing the area with alcohol and applying tea tree oil. You would also benefit from putting some honey on the area.
Taking oral doses of lysine, vit. E and zinc is wise and should continue until the redness is gone. Most people using lysine take about 2000 to 4000 milligrams a day during the cold sore event. If you have been taking lysine since the beginning, you should have been rid of it now. Perhaps you are getting too much arginine in your diet and would benefit by reducing arginine foods for two or three days. The lysine works better and more quickly if you do this. Quite often that makes all the difference.
Arginine foods include mainly grains, nuts and seeds. Oats and wheat are big offenders - this includes cereal and baked goods. Try avoiding them for at least a couple days.
Take care, Lenny. Thank you so much for stopping by and for the 5 star salute. Hope you get rid of your cold sore soon.
Denny
Hi Denny,
I'm 26 years old and I've never had a cold sore in my life, so I am a little concerned and confused with whats going on right now. I'm not sure if I have a cold sore or not but I will explain and hopefully you can please help.
About five days ago (Thursday) I noticed a lump that started to grow under the left side of my lip in the morning. I thought nothing of it, except that it was unusually large but I figured it was either an ingrown hair or a large pimple on the rise. When I got home that night I noticed a little white head had formed over the lump and decided to squeeze it and see if I could get all the puss out so it could go away. All I got was a little bit from the white head and nothing from the lump. I thought it was a little odd, but decided it may just need a little more time for the lump to become a pimple that's ready to be squeezed.
Over the next couple of days I noticed the lump started to slowly get larger so I decided to wash my face a few times a day, apply vitamin e to it and also apply a hot/warm compress twice a day and thought that may bring the pimple/ingrown hair to the surface so I could take care of it. No such luck.
Sunday rolls around and the lump is starting to bug me, not because it itched or burned or ached but just because it was large enough to bug me and it felt "full" under my lip and against my mouth. So I decided to do some research and since I have had a history of having cyst (one on the side of my face) I came to the conclusion that must be what it is. I looked up some herbal remedies for the cyst and some people online recommended Caster Oil. I bought some Caster Oil and applied it to my hot compress. After doing this a couple times throughout the day, I looked at it and I don't want to call it a blister because thats not what it looked like, but rather the smallest thinnest layer of fluid just barely underneath the skin, I thought maybe some of the cyst fluid had come to the surface or maybe I'd just irritated my skin too much with all the hot compress and stuff. So I rubbed it and it broke the skin, then I squeezed the hard lump hoping some puss would come out but nothing happened.
This morning I applied my hot compress again with Caster Oil. Through out the day nothing has happened. The lump is still there, my skin above the lump is red, extremely dry and irritated looking. I have no burning, no itching, and no blisters. The lump just feels hard and the skin feels slightly tight from the dryness of it.
I don't know what to do besides just wait it out and see what happens, but honestly I'm afraid that it could be a cold sore. Any advice you have would be more than appreciated.
Thank you very much Denny,
Mr. Unsure
Okay so I missed the tingling phase, but now my lip is very swollen with tiny red bumps in the inner part of my lip ...:(!!! What can I do to reduce the swelling besides ice...because the ice is definitely not working for me ....
So this week I had little bump on my lip on the lower left side & it tingles ,itches at times & under it I had like redness & my lips have become dry all of sudden. Can you please help me ?
Guys...all you have to do is take one Lysine pill a day, and you wont get a cold sore. I have gotten cold sores since the age of 7. 6 years ago, I learned about Lysine pills, I take one pill a day and I have not seen a cold sore in 6 years.
Hello Denny, about 4 weeks i got my first huge cold sore i put abreva and acyclovir the first week, then peroxide but when i would cleans it the light film would come off then i put alcohol and tea trea oil and that finaly dried it up and the yellow scab fell off by the 3rd week. its been a week now since the scab fell off and it still a dark pink color. what does this mean,is it still lingering, does it want 2 come back or am i scared for life??? for about 2 weeks now I have been taking lysine pills,zink, and vitamin e. Please help!!
Hey, Im a teenager and i have my very first cold sore, Ive had it for 3 days now. I just found your site. It was very helpful. I have put teabags,lemon juice, salt, ice and even garlic on my lip to help "dry" It out. I think its helping because its day 3 and its already a scab. However i still get these random tingly feelings in my cold sore. Is that a sign of healing ? Or what does it mean ? I was googling it then i stumbled upon your site. Please let me know what this tingling means. Thank you for your tips and information!
i smoked almost a week ago with my cousin and she had open cold sores ever since i have been obbsessively researching cold sores on the internet. i had a bump on my lip, so i put herpicinl on it and it went away so i thought i was in the clear, now in the corner of my lip i have burning and small bumps going downward. i have the start of a cold sore. im so upset i can not believe i was stupid enough to smoke with someone who has a cold sore. i dont really have a question i am just really upset, what do i do know that i have herpes?
i smoked almost a week ago with my cousin and she had open cold sores ever since i have been obbsessively researching cold sores on the internet. i had a bump on my lip, so i put herpicinl on it and it went away so i thought i was in the clear, now in the corner of my lip i have burning and small bumps going downward. i have the start of a cold sore. im so upset i can not believe i was stupid enough to smoke with someone who has a cold sore. i dont really have a question i am just really upset, what do i do know that i have herpes?
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