Cold Sore Symptoms - The Domino Effect

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Title: Cold Sore Symptoms - The Domino Effect

Word Count: 675

Author: Denny Bodoh

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Cold Sore Symptoms - The Domino Effect

Copyright 2005 drbodoh

Knowing your personal cold sore symptoms and being

sensitive to them is an essential part of reducing the

severity - or completely eliminating - cold sore symptoms

from your life.

Let me explain.

Cold sore symptoms are caused by the replication process of

the herpes simplex virus. 89% of people worldwide have

this virus in their body, so it is quite universal. 67% of

those folks will experience cold sore symptoms at least

once - most often 2 or more times - in the next 12 months.

There are NO cold sore symptoms when the herpes virus is

latent (sleeping) within your nerve cells. If they wake up

due to some physical stress like flu, colds, or mental

stress - then the cold sore symptoms start. And it's like

a " domino effect " - from one symptom to the next.

The first of the cold sore symptoms many call the itching

stage. The cold sore target area will starts to feel

uncomfortable. Itching, dryness, tingling, or burning

sensations are common. When you start feeling these cold

sore symptoms - beware! You are only a day or two away

from more severe cold sore symptoms.

The itching stage, without a doubt, is the most important

of all cold sore symptoms. Treating this phase of your

cold sore symptoms immediately and correctly is the secret

to being cold sore free for life.

To prevent further cold sore symptoms, or at least reduce

their impact, try applying ice. Herpes virus hates cold.

Applying ice during this phase sends the virus back to the

latent stage for many people.

I prefer ice because it's readily available almost anywhere

you are, it works very well and is basically free. Any

cold object, like a can of soda, will help. The important

thing is - the quicker you do this, the less likely you

will have to suffer further cold sore symptoms. If

nothing else, your cold sore symptoms will be a lot less

severe.

Pain relievers and fever reducers like aspirin are often

used with much success during most of the symptoms. Some

over-the-counter treatments contain numbing agents will

help also.

If you miss treating this symptom, then the other cold sore

symptoms start dropping like dominos - fast and furious.

The next of the cold sore symptoms is the inflammation

phase. Hard red bumps appear and some pain is apparent.

Swelling of the cold sore area develops. You may notice

swelling of the lymph glands under the jaw, tiredness,

headaches, possibly a slight fever - basically flu or cold

like symptoms.

The red bumps burst and merge causing an open, weeping

sore. This is a quite painful time. Your nose may run,

headaches are common. The fluid is teaming with new

viruses and this is by far the most contagious period.

Use caution. A secondary bacterial infection here could

greatly extend and complicate your cold sore symptoms.

Within a couple days a yellowish crust forms over the sore.

Still very painful to the touch. Also, the crust often

cracks, as when you smile, and that's a major cause of pain

in this phase of cold sore symptoms.

You still may have headaches and feel feverish. Swollen

lymph glands start to reduce. The skin is healing under

the crust so there will be itching and general discomfort

yet during this phase of your cold sore symptoms.

Within a few days, maybe a week, the scab falls off. New

skin covers the wound. Healing is still taking place under

the new skin, producing a red spot for most people. This

redness can last from 1-3 weeks. Itching and irritation is

still a problem.

Your lymph glands should be greatly reduced by now, but

still noticeable. The feverish feeling and headaches

should be about gone.

One final note on cold sore symptoms.

During the red spot period, the cold sore symptoms could

start all over again quite easily - not unlike getting a

head cold back right away.

The key to reducing or eliminating cold sore events in your

life is early detection and active treatment of your cold

sore symptoms.

About the Author:

Denny Bodoh is a 33-year newspaper veteran and an

alternative health and nutrition research author. If you

want to know more about cold sore symptoms, and what you

can do about them, visit his wildly popular website.

http://www.be-cold-sore-free.com