Cold sores are caused by Herpes Simplex Virus I (HSV-1) and although once infected the virus remains with us for the rest of our lives, it lies dormant for most of the time and many people never show any symptoms at all.

In fact it is estimated that 70 to 80 percent of the general population is infected with HSV-1, many of us picking it up in childhood through contact with infected adults. The virus is only infectious when it is at the blister or sore stage, and contact should be avoided with both the fluid and the sore until it has healed.

Typically it is transmitted through kissing and so to prevent catching the virus you shouldn t kiss anyone with a cold sore if you are a sufferer you should avoid kissing anyone while you have an attack. Also be careful about infecting other parts of your body, especially the eyes where infection can cause blindness.

HSV-1 usually inhabits the nerve cells and becomes active when the immune system has been weakened, typically because of a cold or flu. It also happens commonly because of prolonged periods of stress or lack of sleep and a good diet and regular exercise can help maintain your body s defenses. The best strategy for sufferers is to try and prevent attacks. However, it is inevitable that they will reoccur at some point at which the focus changes to treating the symptoms.

Cold sore treatment options fall into two camps the first is using anti-virus treatments to help prevent the virus from replicating to its full extent and therefore lessening the severity and duration of the attack. The other option is to follow natural cold sore remedies, which include treating the infected area with ice as soon as the tingling sensation that precedes an attack takes place.

While many people swear by various treatments, they do seem to work better on some people than on others. In this case you should try several cold sore treatment combinations before settling upon the best option for you.

If you found this article interesting you may also like to find out more about how to get rid of cold sores You may also be interested in finding out about long term cold sore treatment that helps suppress the virus in your body.

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