Friday, November 28, 2008

The Cold Sore Cure Explained!

By Tom Mulligan

It probably won't make you feel any better if you have one yourself, but cold sores are a very common problem. They're unsightly and most definitely uncomfortable. However, you can reduce the length of time a cold sore stays there with some simple steps and you can also prevent them from showing up at all.

A cold sore will usually heal in seven to ten days all by itself. However, this is a lot longer than most of us would like to have a cold sore. This is particularly true given the kind of timing that cold sores seem to have - they seem to know when you have a social obligation coming up and choose that time to appear. To cut down on the healing time, here are a few tips which can help. The first step is to know how cold sores work.

Cold sores are not curable - they're a viral infection (herpes simplex). You can't treat the infection with antibiotics. However, you can treat the symptoms, which cut down on the length of an outbreak.

Don't get discouraged though. Even though you can't cure the virus, you can take some steps to permanently prevent any outbreaks. There are also some easy steps you can take to heal any outbreak you get in less than 24 hours. That was the idea behind starting our website - we understand the hassle they can be and think it's important you equip yourself to fight away cold sores for good.

About 40 million people have an outbreak of cold sores every year. These sores appear on or around the mouth; while there are several things which can contribute to an outbreak, it basically comes down to a weakened immune system. If you have stress, fatigue, poor diet or a cold; this can increase your odds of having a breakout.

The first sign of an outbreak is an itching or tingling sensation. The area then becomes red and swells. This leads to the eruption of the cold sore. The sore will ooze briefly, then dry out and scab over. However, if you scratch or otherwise break the scab, it will take longer for the sore to heal.

Most of us would rather not use costly prescription medications to treat our cold sores. Besides, these medications don't work any better than home remedies in a lot of cases and you'll have to go to your doctor to get them. You can use home remedies to get rid of your cold sores quickly.

You can help fight off a cold sore with immune boosting supplements like vitamin C. You can also use lip balm, aloe vera gel and other soothing agents to prevent your sore from getting too dry and splitting. L-Lysine can also cause your sore to heal more rapidly; it promotes healing.

Generally speaking, you can help prevent cold sores by staying in good health, eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of sleep. If you have been ill or overworked, a cold sore could be on its way. Treat yourself well and you can keep these sores from coming up in the first place. - 16083

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