cold sores

[midagetrolop]

I have had 3 cold sores in the last 6 weeks. I haven't been ill, in the sun or done anything unusual to make me stressed. Anybody any ideas as to why ?

[HelenMac1]

Cold sores can be caused by either of the following; emotional upset, fatigue and tiredness, colds or other viruses that weaken the body's defences, menstrual periods and strong sunlight and cold winds. Could be either of them.

[Ethel]

To put it in a non-offensive way, has your mouth area been in contact with anybody who has herpes anywhere on their body?

[midagetrolop]

Ethel, I asked for that one, but no way!!

[jiggy-gb]

Excessive amounts of caffeine or chocolate can also cause outbreaks, anyone who suffers with recurring coldsores should avoid both.

The first one could have been caused by any of the reasons mentioned before. The 2 after that may well have been caused by reinfection. You must be extremely cautious about anything that has come into contact with a coldsore. Throw away your toothbrush and toothpaste, same goes for lipstick or lipsalve that came into contact with any sore. Wash towels and flannels on a high heat, and make sure you soak all mugs, cups, cutlery etc in very hot water too. That way you'll cut down your risk of recontamination, and also the chance of spreading it to other people in your household.

One of the best things for helping with this is those Compeed plaster things that came out recently, not only do they really help with the healing time, they also provide a good barrier and stop you from messing with/touching your coldsore.

I hope you get shut of them soon, they really bring you down don't they!

[midagetrolop]

Thanks jiggy-gb - I do all you say use my own towel etc -but they were all in the same place on my lip.

[funnygirl]

Midage, I too get a lot of cold sores. When I feel one coming on I take a L-lysine tablet. It normally does the job.
Some people take these tablets regularly, but I only take one when I feel the prickling on my lips.
Normally it is stress that does it for me.

[informashun]

the safest and sure way is to dab on zovirax , or, buy the much cheaper but identical aciclavor.
do this asap.

[william c]

They are very contagious and you could be re-infecting yourself. Sterilise your toothbrush, make sure you use clean face cloths and towels.

[spammylou]

I've got one up my f******* nose at the moment. Nice.