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Cold sores every couple of weeks

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Posted 2/16/2017 2:06 PM (GMT 0)
They are not serious, just minor and they go away after a week. Only lately I started using Acyclovir so that they go away as soon as possible.

My UC is currently in light activity because of the stress I had a couple of weeks ago and because I missed ~4 days of Imuran.

Anyone has similar experience ? I am not too familiar with cold sores... If I kissed someone would I transmit it to the position where I kissed this person? These cold sores I have never "burst". They just sit there, hurt a bit and go away.
Posted 2/16/2017 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I had a similar experience last winter. Had several cold sores in a row, and some of them were bad ones - the scar of one is still visible on my upper lip. I also had a prolonged cold and my first flare up of uveitis (eye inflammation).

I reckon I must have just been run down. It wasn't the meds though, as I wasn't on any Crohn's meds at that time. This year I've not had any cold sores or colds so far, but have had uveitis again.

Yes, kissing can definitely transmit the cold sore virus. You can get 'invisible' plasters to cover the cold sore - as long as they cover it fully, it should stop the cold sore from being contagious. They also reduce the pain. The plasters are expensive but well worth it, imo.
Posted 2/16/2017 2:30 PM (GMT 0)

NiceCupOfTea said...
Yes, kissing can definitely transmit the cold sore virus. You can get 'invisible' plasters to cover the cold sore - as long as they cover it fully, it should stop the cold sore from being contagious. They also reduce the pain. The plasters are expensive but well worth it, imo.

I've never heard about these invisible patches. YOU ARE A GODSEND!
Posted 2/16/2017 2:42 PM (GMT 0)
Is the cold sore transmitted only when it bursts or even when it does not ?
Posted 2/16/2017 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
Glad to have helped!

Good question. I had to google, because I wasn't entirely sure. Turned out I was right, but didn't want to give you incorrect info. In a word, yes, they are contagious even if they don't burst (or have burst and scabbed over).

www.everydayhealth.com/skin-and-beauty/how-contagious-are-cold-sores.aspx
Posted 2/16/2017 5:40 PM (GMT 0)
Have you had them swabbed and cultured?

Spreading happens not only when bursts.....the virus is active as long as it's there. NO kissing, or sharing anything. And if you use anything topical like lypsyl, don't use it during and then afterward. You will keep reinfecting yourself.
Same with not using your fingers to apply topical medication...use q tip as much as possible and if using fingers to wash thoroughly.

Consider taking L-lysine 500mg (2 twice daily). It's a known supplement in the treatment and lessening of herpes viruses breakouts

q
Posted 2/16/2017 5:58 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Have you had them swabbed and cultured?

Spreading happens not only when bursts.....the virus is active as long as it's there. NO kissing, or sharing anything. And if you use anything topical like lypsyl, don't use it during and then afterward. You will keep reinfecting yourself.
Same with not using your fingers to apply topical medication...use q tip as much as possible and if using fingers to wash thoroughly.

Consider taking L-lysine 500mg (2 twice daily). It's a known supplement in the treatment and lessening of herpes viruses breakouts

q

I didn't have the time to get it checked out.

I am already taking vitamin b supplements. I will buy this L-lysine tomorrow.
Posted 2/16/2017 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
Keep us posted how you're doing.

q
Posted 2/16/2017 6:32 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Keep us posted how you're doing.

q

Ok.

Just to make things clear. These cold sores don't hurt that bad. They are not very visible either. They don't burst and they don't leave any scars. They are just mild and come back every few weeks. The current one is like the 4th one. Each time in a different place I think.
Posted 2/16/2017 6:36 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe they aren't cold sores...but if they are, herpes is highly contagious, so be cautious. Can you post a pic?

q
Posted 2/16/2017 6:43 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Maybe they aren't cold sores...but if they are, herpes is highly contagious, so be cautious. Can you post a pic?

q

I don't know what it can be.

I can and I will.
Posted 2/16/2017 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks
q
Posted 2/16/2017 6:49 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
Maybe they aren't cold sores...but if they are, herpes is highly contagious, so be cautious. Can you post a pic?

q

I tried taking a picture, but it's barely visible. It's just a bump, after just 2 days of Acyclovir.
Posted 2/16/2017 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
Why would you get a cold sore swabbed and cultured? I've never had that done. Two thirds of the world's population has the HSV-1 virus, so the chances are very high that the people around you are also infected. It makes sense to avoid kissing and sharing things like cups or toothbrushes, but you don't need to become a social leper if you have one.

A mild cold sore may not form a pus-filled blister and burst either; I've had ones which haven't done that.

PS: You can't keep on re-infecting yourself with the cold sore virus either. Once you get it once, you have it for life. There's no cure for it at the moment.

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 2/16/2017 1:36:23 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/17/2017 7:39 AM (GMT 0)
Cold sores are extremely contagious and I get them all the time like you unfortunately after getting one from my ex-boyfriend even though he didn't have an active lesion. We are unfortunately more suspectible to recurrent bouts because we are immuno-compromised. Look into L-lysine, there's a lot of evidence on it and it works for me. When I feel one is coming on I avoid foods high in arginine (cola, chocolate, nuts, orange juice) and start eating lysine-rich foods (mangoes, margarine, creamy foods) and L-lysine supplements. It's based on the fact that the amino acid arginine is required for herpes replication. Honestly try it, it's helped me beat so many cold sores
Posted 2/17/2017 9:03 AM (GMT 0)
The cold sore dried out thanks to Acyclovir, but it burst after wiping myself with a towel after shower. :/
Posted 2/17/2017 9:08 AM (GMT 0)
I ate chocolate and nuts lately. That must be one of the reasons this is happening.
Posted 2/17/2017 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, if I eat nuts or chocolate, within a few days I'm guaranteed to get one. But in summer I make sure I eat lots of mangoes and avoid sunburn (another trigger) and I get them much less. I also keep alcohol swabs at home, and just swab them repeatedly when the lesions are visible to help them dry out faster
Posted 2/17/2017 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
Absolutely don't wipe that area with anything you use on the rest of your body. You can spread it to eyes, genitals and wherever.

Good to hear youre healing.

Apparently, foods high in argenine can encourage herpes in our bodies, so maybe that's why L lysine is good?

q
Posted 2/17/2017 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
A cold sore only lasts for a few days anyway, so I'm not spending money on expensive supplements to (possibly) make it go away 1 day faster if I'm lucky.

Not noticed any dietary correlations at my end. I've been eating loads of chocolate lately and not got any cold sores. I'm cutting out the chocolate solely in order to lose a few pounds though - no more Cafe Nero hot chocolate milanos ;_;
Posted 2/17/2017 10:43 PM (GMT 0)
I hugely recommend lysine ointment for cold sores. Before coming across the lysine ointment I'd use aciclovir cold sore cream and lysine tablets, as well as cold sore patches, but even with this combination I'd get cold sore outbreaks that spread around my mouth, and even onto my skin.

The lysine ointment works like a dream for me. As soon as I get a hint of a cold sore I start to apply it, and the cold sore doesn't form. I still use aciclovir now and then, and will take the odd lysine tablet, but it's the lysine ointment that makes all the difference for me.

I'm UK based and I buy this one:

www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-lysine-14g-60005657?skuid=005657
Posted 2/17/2017 10:53 PM (GMT 0)
Lysine supplements are cheap. I expected a higher price.
Posted 2/17/2017 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah lysine supplements are heaps cheap and are not considered a minor problem for those of us who experience them recurrently. For a while I was getting them each month due to hormones, and they were embarrassing, painful, and unsightly. It would take about a week for them to go and then three weeks later I'd get the next one. Plus they also seem to mess with my UC a bit.
Posted 2/27/2017 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
My last cold sore is healed (that one was painful), but I got two new ones, yay! :/ Both on lower lip, one left of the previous spot, and one right of the previous spot. The new sores aren't painful, they are just red and irritable. They appeared despite me taking Lysine daily. I've been avoiding Chocolate, nuts... things that are high in Arginine.

But as I am writing this, I realized that seeds are also high in Arginine, and I've been eating them literally daily.
Posted 2/27/2017 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
Still take the L-lysine. Are you taking 1g twice daily?

A good start......the point is to quiet the virus.

q
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