I looked in the mirror, and sure enough there it was – the beginnings of a cold sore. Cold sores sure are ugly, painful and have a bad reputation. You can’t blame them though, there’s nothing positive about a cold sore. But what exactly is a cold sore besides it being a do-not-kiss-me sign?
A cold sore is a type of fever blister and it is an infection with the herpes simplex virus. Typically, from the HSV 1 virus, not the HSV 2 virus which causes genital herpes, though cold sores can be caused by both. Cold sores are contagious, and you can get them if you have been kissing someone who presently has a cold sore.
When you come into contact with the virus, it may take days or a few weeks for the cold sore to appear. It can pop anywhere on your body, but usually they appear around the lips and mouth. You will feel a tingling sensation at first and it will be a little sore, then in a couple days, the cold sore will appear. If you have ever had a cold sore at any time, chances are you’ll have one again. The cold sore virus doesn’t ever go away, it just becomes dormant. You’ll usually experience another cold sores when your body is experiencing the perfect storm – stress and an impacted immune system due to a cold, flu, etc.
Though there are other situations that can cause a cold sore such as an allergic reaction, headaches, menstruation, eating acidic or spicy foods, and sunburn. In other words, it may be hard to avoid getting a cold sore, but it’s not so hard to get rid of a cold sore.
Like we said earlier, currently, there is no cure for of the HSV infection, but when a cold sore appears, there are things you can do to elevate the pain and speed up the healing process.
Avoid touching the cold sore, and keep it clean with soap and water to reduce further infection. We recommend putting a topical treatment on it like our Absolute! Divine Serum to help it heal faster. Our serum is plant based and contains healing essential oils that minimizes the break out of blisters and heals it so much faster, and keeps the lip from scarring. You can also take certain amino acids like lysine that can help heal the cold sore from the inside.
A cold sore will generally heal up with no treatment but who wants an ugly cold sore for longer than necessary? When you get a cold sore again, try a little Absolute! Divine Serum, and see for yourself how fast you’ll be back to kissing!