Cold Sores No More!
They are one of the most irritating things to happen and they usually occur just in time for that date, interview, night out or worse still – wedding day!
You feel that tingle…you try to remember the advert with the chick and her motorcycle helmet…but you know it is too late. You are destined to the next seven days of cold-sore-sulking!
But fear not! While cold sores cannot be cured, per se, there are a few simple steps you can take to dramatically reduce the likelihood of cold sores paying you a visit in the future:
- Take a Good Probiotic: good bacteria is well reknowned for supporting the gut function. Keeping your army of friendly bacterial at full strength is helpful in reducing the recurrence of cold sore outbreaks. You might be thinking about all of the yoghurts that claim probiotic goodness right now – but if I were you I would look to a powdered form of probiotic as the yoghurts are largely more full of marketing spin than good bacteria.
- Eat Plenty of Garlic: so then, garlic again. Good for your sex drive AND good in the fight agains cold sores (so two reasons why garlic is good for your love life then!) – it has powerful antiviral properties and so fights against cold sores (which are the virus herpes simplex type 1: HSV-1) and also has strong antibiotic and antifungal properties.
- Get a Good MultiVitamin & MultiMineral: in particular you want to be looking for decent amounts of vitamin C and Zinc – as the HSV 1 virus is known to strike when our immune system is weak.
- Swap Vodka Shots for Wheatgrass Shots: Wheatgrass is an great source of chlorophyll, beta carotene, and a host of vitamins and minerals – so it boosts your general wellbeing and your body’s ability to ward off a virus – however, it also contains the amino acid lysine – which is known to be one of the most effective natural treatments for cold sores, mouth ulcers and shingles. Bonus!
So there you have it! Prevention is always better than cure and all of the above do so much more than prevent cold sores! They are all on my list of daily must-haves for a plethora of reasons, but the fact also remains that I have not had a cold sore in many, many years. Quality.
Never apply garlic directly to your skin. I did it to try and prevent and cold sore. I gave myself second and third degree burns.
If you get cold sores, find a dentist who uses any soft tissue laser. Ask him to laser the area asap when you get a cold sore. You’ll never get another in the same place again and the one you do have will go to dried up scabbing stage immediately.
Hi Andrea
Thanks for pointing out this contrast. It is an odd one. Having explored this, I find thousands of sources (many very reputable) recommending garlic for cold sores as it is highly antiviral.
However, several other sources show that garlic contains arginine.
I will research further and report back!
If you have any insights then do let me know.
Ross
Garlic contains arginine which has been stated in your website as being an amino acid to avoid when a person has an outbreak of the virus herpes simplex type 1: HSV-1, so why are you telling people to increase garlic in their diet when they have a cold sore?
Nice tips, I would just like to add that, the cold sore virus needs a high requirement of an amino acid called arginine. Arginine can be found in nuts, peanuts and chocolate. Another important amino acid, in relation to cold sores is lysine. By increasing lysine intake, the recurrence rate of cold sores can be reduced. Taking lysine supplements on the break out of a cold sore will help to suppress its duration. Lysine can be found naturally in Brewer’s yeast, legumes, dairy, fish, and meat.