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Useful Cold Sore Prevention Tips And Strategies

Cold sores, herpes labialis by its medical name, is most commonly caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Cold sores are fluid-filled blisters around the lips and they can be very painful and sometimes even appear inside the mouth on your tongue or gums.

The virus infection is passed through direct contact with an infected area or body fluids like saliva. Here are some tips for cold sore prevention.

Avoid contact

Since the virus is spread through direct contact with the infection, the best thing to do for cold sore prevention is to avoid such contact. A WebMD article from 2010 recommends that you:

* Avoid contact with the infected person through body fluids, so do not kiss the infected person.

* You can pass body fluids by sharing utensils or drinking cups, so do not use other people’s utensils especially if you know they are infected.

* Also avoid sharing razors that people might have used on their face, and do not use other people’s toothbrushes.

* You should also avoid using face towels that others might have used.

These are simple cold sore prevention rules that will help you stay away from getting the infection. Of course, avoidance may often be hard, since you don’t always develop symptoms immediately and a person may be the carrier of the infection without knowing it.

Keep the infection outbreak in check

If you have gotten the infection, there are some cold sore prevention techniques that can help you limit the number of outbreaks that occur and even help in keeping them milder and shorter in duration. A 2011 Wise Bread article reminds us that the biggest triggers of cold sore outbreaks include:

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