What Is A Cold Sore And What Causes Cold Sores?
What is a cold sore? Cold sores are little blisters and sores that appear on the lips and mouth and are caused by a virus called herpes simplex.
You probably have heard that stress, fever and cold weather are causes of cold sores. Yes, a cold sore often appears during these events. But, these are just cold sore triggers. The actual causes are not quite that simple.
First, keep in mind that the herpes simplex virus is the parasite virus that causes all cold sores, fever blisters and oral herpes outbreaks (three names for the same thing). Over 89% of folks on the planet carry this virus all their lives.
The herpes virus prefers to live in your nerve fibers and makes its lifetime home there. Normally it is latent and hiding. When the right conditions present themselves, it will activate and move to the surface to replicate.
This virus cannot create its own kind. Like a true parasite, it forces your cells to create the new virus. Each virus particle enters a single cell on your lip or nose and takes control.
Once the cell is full of new virus, the controlling virus destroys it to release new virus hoards. This explosion of many cells creates the gaping cold sore ulcer. It is very painful since it occurs on the end of the nerve.
Below are the top conditions or causes of cold sores in most people. If you can keep them under control, you will have very few - if any - cold sore outbreaks.
1. LOW PH BALANCE
Your pH is a measure of the acid or alkaline state of your body. On a scale of 1 through 14, 7 is neutral. Below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline. The preferred level for best health is slightly alkaline at about 7.35 on the pH scale.
When in an alkaline state, your cells are rich in oxygen and very resistant to all viruses - including cold sores.
Stress, illness, injury and cold weather are some of the triggers that cause your body to drop into an acid state below 7. This reduces your serum oxygen and makes you less resistant to cold sore attack.
Food choices can also contribute a lot to an acid condition in your body. These include carbonated drinks, pork, white flour, alcohol and pickled foods. Green vegetables will contribute to a healthy alkaline condition.
The vitamin stores have supplements and powders to help keep you alkaline. Many folks swear by these for their optimum health. Give them a try - especially if you have severe and frequent cold sore events.
2. AMINO ACIDS - ARGININE AND LYSINE
Arginine is a common protein and one of the main causes of cold sores.
Arginine is the primary building block needed to create new herpes simplex virus. Without an ample supply of this protein, your cells cannot create herpes virus.
Your cells store arginine in special receptor areas within the cell. Lysine is another similar protein that shares the same storage receptors.
The good news - your cells cannot create herpes virus with lysine protein. Increasing your intake of lysine saturates your cells and forces out excess arginine. This, in effect, starves the herpes virus and sends it back into hiding.
This tactic is especially noticeable during a cold sore event. It often stops a cold sore dead in its tracks.
Eating more lysine foods - and less arginine foods - can be quite effective. However, most folks find lysine supplements the best way to go. They are cheap, safe and very convenient. Normal dosage during an outbreak is about 4000 milligrams daily.
3. MULTI-VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are also one of the main causes of cold sores. This is quite common actually. Our foods today contain less than half the nutrients of 50 years ago - as proven in hundreds of research studies.
Vitamins and minerals are critical to a healthy body and strong immune system - able to fight off another herpes attack.
Look for high levels of B and C vitamins. These are the stress vitamins that help you cope better with any stress you may encounter. Your body burns these up quickly so you must replenish them daily.
Calcium and zinc are key minerals in the battle against cold sore infection. Zinc destroys virus. Calcium is the main mineral used by your body to maintain an alkaline nature. Get at least 1000 milligrams of calcium daily.
Of all these causes of cold sores, you can see that it boils down to your pH balance, proper nutrient intake and starving the cold sore virus.
I hope that this article helps you identify what is a cold sore and what causes cold sores, so you can enjoy a cold sore free life too.
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