first aid for a COLD SORE
‘Hey L, are you in for another fight?’ I joked to my girlfriend. ‘If only it were such a cool story, Simoon, I’ve just drunk from the wrong glass again.’ Girlfriend L had caught it for the thousandth time. A cold sore, the misery.
A cold sore is caused by the herpes simplex virus, which carries with it no less than 80% of us. A small portion of that, namely 20% of people, regularly suffers from such an ugly and especially painful spot on or around the mouth. It is not only painful and contagious, but it also doesn’t just go away. Fortunately, there are lifesavers that can ease the misery and make it disappear as quickly as possible. And if you catch it in time, you can even prevent it.
‘Hey L, are you in for another fight?’ I joked to my girlfriend
- Take care of a good immune system. Especially when you start to feel tingling, a bottle of Echinaforce is what you want to have in your cupboard. These tablets strengthen the immune system, increasing resistance to bacteria and infections. Even if you feel a cold or flu coming on, this is your lifesaver; you get sick less quickly and recover faster.
- Put the fruit basket in sight, because extra vitamin C is not a luxury when a blister is on the way.
- Stay out of the sun, as the sun only makes your cold sore worse. Use a lip balm with sun protection factor if you do go outside.
- Stay away from your cold sore and wash your hands if you have touched it. A cold sore is very contagious until the lip is completely healed. Got a party? Keep your glass close and don’t lend your lipstick to your girlfriend.
- Just got rid of the misery? Make sure a new toothbrush is lying on your bathroom cabinet.
- Eat plenty of lysine-rich products. This is an essential amino acid that is mainly found in protein-rich products like chicken, dairy, soybeans, and some fruits.
- Take an extra L-lysine supplement if you regularly suffer from a cold sore. Especially if you don’t consume many protein-rich products, it’s important to get it in another way. L-lysine is not produced by your body, but it is very important to keep viruses at bay. Do you feel a tingling? Take an extra high dose once, and you might just get away with it.
- Besides lysine, it is also important that your body contains enough arginine. This is the counterpart of lysine, and normally these two are in balance. If you have too much arginine in your body, the chance of a cold sore is high. Nuts, seeds, shellfish, and soy products are things that contain a lot of arginine. Blister on the way? Leave that bowl of nuts alone for a while.
- Has the damage already been done? Then make sure to get the Herpotherm at home. This small electric device combats your cold sore with concentrated heat. The device is no bigger than a lipstick, so it can easily fit in your bag.
And uh, if you’ve already got such a unit, put those bedroom practices at the bottom of your to-do list…
