Stop Cold Sores

Cold sores, cause and stigma.

Dear Dave,

I started getting cold sores for the first time. I feel embarrassed and don't want to be seen with them. Why do I get them and surely I am not the only one who feels the way I do?

From A Cold Sore Victim

Dear Cold Sore Victim,

It’s time to shed some light on it: cold sores. These pesky little blisters, also known as fever blisters, can be quite common, yet they’re often misunderstood and carry a significant social stigma.

Let’s start with the basics: cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), primarily HSV-Contrary to what some may believe, cold sores aren’t just a result of being unclean or engaging in risky behavior. In fact, many people carry the virus without ever experiencing symptoms. Once infected, the virus can remain dormant in the body for years before reactivating, typically during times of stress, illness, or hormonal changes.

Now, here’s where the stigma comes into play. Despite their prevalence, cold sores are often unfairly associated with negative judgments and misconceptions. Some people mistakenly believe that those with cold sores are unhygienic or promiscuous, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that cold sores can affect anyone, regardless of their lifestyle or personal habits.

Unfortunately, this stigma can have real consequences for those living with cold sores. Like you many people feel embarrassed or ashamed of their outbreaks, leading them to hide their condition or avoid social situations altogether. This not only impacts their mental well-being but can also strain relationships and hinder their ability to seek help & treatment.

So, how can we break the stigma surrounding cold sores? Education and empathy are key. By understanding the true cause of cold sores and recognizing that they’re a common and manageable condition. If you or someone you know experiences cold sores, remember that you’re not alone. There are treatments available to help manage outbreaks and reduce their frequency.

Feel free to email me for a free report showing you how to prevent cold sores outbreaks. Like you I suffered for cold sores for years before discovering an inexpensive (less than a nickel a day), non prescription way to prevent cold sore outbreaks.

Dave Conley
Founder of No More Cold Sores

Managing Cold Sores: Exploring Treatment Options

Cold sores, caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), can be both uncomfortable and unsightly. There are a number of treatment options to treat an outbreak or alleviate symptoms.

Antiviral Medications:
- Prescription antiviral medications, such as acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir, are often the go-to treatment for cold sores.
Topical Creams and Ointments:
- Over-the-counter creams containing docosanol or prescription-strength creams with penciclovir can be applied directly to the cold sore. These formulations help to relieve pain, itching.
Antiviral Lip Balms:
- Lip balms containing antiviral agents like docosanol provide a discreet way to manage cold sores.
Oral Pain Relievers:
- Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, can help manage pain and discomfort associated with cold sores. These medications do not target the virus.
Home Remedies:
- Some individuals find relief from natural remedies, such as applying aloe vera, tea tree oil, or coconut oil to the affected area. While these do not combat the virus, they can help soothe the skin and reduce irritation.
Avoiding Triggers:
- Identifying and avoiding triggers that may provoke cold sore outbreaks is crucial. Common triggers include stress, fatigue, exposure to sunlight, and certain foods.
Preventive Measures:
- For individuals experiencing frequent outbreaks, there are treatments that if used daily will prevent the outbreak of a cold sore. This approach aims to reduce (or eliminate) the frequency and severity of cold sores.

It’s important to note that while these treatments can alleviate symptoms or prevent outbreaks there is no cure for the herpes simplex virus.

If you would like a free report on how I have been free from cold sores for the past 20 years using a little known treatment… click the link here and provide your name, email address and a bit about how long you have suffered from cold sores and what treatments you have tried.

I’m back – Stress and cold sores go hand in hand.

Job related stress, 62% of workers say that work is their #1 source of stress. Add to that family responsibilities, financial stress, lack of sleep and you have a snapshot of the typical American household.

Stress will cause cold sores if you already have the herpes simplex virus. When you’re stressed or even just feeling run down, this can affect your immune system. When your immune system is under pressure, the resistance to any virus isn’t as strong so the virus (cold sore) has a chance to break out again.

Once you have had a cold sore outbreak (and have the herpes virus HSV-1), the virus lies dormant in nerve cells in your skin and may emerge as another cold sore at the same place as before.

Now if we read the typical advice given at the online medical references we read things such as:

All of these are true, and good ideas but like the last few months for me (I run a tax preparation business) it is literally IMPOSSIBLE to not be stressed at work. Can you identify ?

More work to do than there are hours to do it?
Pressure to do more work, with less time and resources?
Family stressors do not “pause” during stressful times at work.

Life cannot always be balanced and stress free… at least not in the “real” world. This is when the nasty HSV-1 virus rears its ugly head and we get that “tingly” feeling telling us that a cold sore is getting ready to appear.

What do you do ?

It is too late for most treatments… Abreva, Lysine, cremes, home remedies none can stop the outbreak. All they MAY do is limit the length of the outbreak. This used to be my dilemma, that is until I discovered how to prevent cold sores outbreaks permanently.

If you also suffer from cold sores during stress filled times in your life, like I did. You do not have to suffer from a cold sore outbreak again, and they can be prevented without the expense and potential side effects of a prescription antiviral drug. Take a look at the free report provided at coldsores.us.

What about treating cold sores with a prescription antiviral drug like Valtrex ?

When searching online for a treatment for cold sores, one of the options shown is the use of prescription antiviral drugs. A study done in 1998 shows that the use of Valtrex type (valacyclovir) antiviral drugs do reduce the number of outbreaks by 33%-50%. The study also showed the higher doses (500 – 1000 mg day) provided greater suppressive effects (better at preventing outbreaks rather than merely treating the cold sore once it appears).

So if these prescriptions work, why aren’t more people using them ? There are a number of reasons that I would not take (or recommend) a prescription antiviral drug to treat/prevent cold sores:

Reducing outbreaks is a half-measure that is only a 1/2 solution. We want a way to prevent outbreaks.
Costs, although the prescription is available from your neighborhood Wall-Mart for about $20 per month (30 x 500mg tablets), the price does not include the price of doctor visits and blood test to monitor kidney function. Likely cost with doctor visits and blood work $500 yr.
Side Effects from long term use of antiviral drugs:
1. Kidney Damage caused by valacyclovir
2. Alopecia (going bald) caused by valacyclovir
3. Painful menstrual cramps
4. Tiredness & Malaise (a feeling of overall weakness a feeling of discomfort a feeling like you have an illness simply not feeling well)

There are a number of online doctors who will prescribe these drugs to folks suffering from cold sores, but you will agree to hold them harmless should you suffer some of these side effects. Although this treatment may be a better option than doing nothing (it is more effective), it still is not the best treatment available.

I spent over a decade researching (and testing) the ways to treat my cold sore outbreaks (> 10 a year). You can now have access to all this research written in plain english that explains exactly how you can STOP the herpes virus from causing cold sores outbreaks. Imagine never attempting to cover up an outbreak again, or pretend other people are not staring at the scab on your lip.

You do not have to suffer from a cold sore outbreak again, and they can be prevented without the expense and potential side effects of a prescription antiviral drug. Take a look at the free report provided at coldsores.us.

Fools Gold…

I mentioned in my previous post that in 1993 my cold sore prevention / cure journey brought me to a possible solution, the amino acid Lysine. Let me give you some background…

It was 1993 that I started weight training, and as an ectomorph body type (ie. skinny) thought that supplements might help me gain weight. An amino acid called Arginine was purported to increase HGH (growth hormones) if taken at night on an empty stomach. I started my supplementation with it every night on an empty stomach. After a number of months I started to see the effects of taking Arginine as a supplement. Unfortunately, it was not the result I was looking for… MORE COLD SORE OUTBREAKS.

In trying to discover why, I came across this study on the “Relation of arginine-lysine antagonism to herpes simplex growth in tissue culture” published in 1981. The study states that an arginine deficiency suppressed the replication (growth) of the cold sore virus (Herpes HSV-1), and that the amino acid Lysine antagonized (worked against) the virus promoting activity of Arginine.

The theory was that if one limited the amount of Arginine rich foods you ate (things like nuts, chocolate, oats and breads) AND took 1,000 mg of Lysine daily then cold sore outbreaks could be prevented or drastically reduced. Well I started taking Lysine supplements daily (500 mg with each meal) and guess what… I still got cold sores. So I increased the dose to 1,000 mg with each meal, still got cold sores. The thought of giving up peanut butter (nuts), sandwiches (wheat in bread), oatmeal (oats), and chocolate were not appealing.

Now if I Google “Lysine & cold sores” I get about 400,000 hits, with the majority touting Lysine as a cure. My experience is that Lysine may help some people but most people (myself included) have found its use as a foolproof method of preventing cold sore outbreaks the equivalent of Fools Gold.

I continued my research and discovered another product / person who claimed they could stop me from getting cold sores… this is someone I doubt any of you have ever heard of but his books are probably in your local library. I will discuss him and his cure next week.

Let me assure you be that you do not have to suffer from embarrassing cold sores. I haven’t had one in over 20 years.

Hope for cold sore sufferers ?

I was in the 5th grade (see picture below) when I remember getting my first cold sore (about 1973). Since it was my first cold sore, the warning signs (tingling around the mouth) were not something I understood. The next morning, I woke up with a blister on my upper lip. The blisters got progressively worse until 3-5 days later they burst and began to scab over.

I am #23 the kid on the bottom right, this is the 7th grade boys BB team. — I am #23, kid on the bottom right

My parents took me to the the doctor. He looked at the sore on my upper lip and told them it was a cold sore. They were told to go to the store some Campho-Phenique to put on the scab to soothe any pain but explained there is no known cure for these cold sores.

Now at school, a kid with blisters or a big scab on his upper lip is an anomaly. No kid wants to be different or stand out, I was both with these sores on my mouth. First the kids would ask “What’s that sore on your lip” ? Then I got called all kinds of names to like “VD boy“, “Scabber“, etc. After a couple outbreaks, the teachers sent me to the office to have the nurse check me for a communicable disease such as impetigo and such. I tried to cover up the sores, pop the blisters, pick the scabs… anything to try and make them go away. Nothing worked.

To make matters worse I would get them every 6-8 weeks or so. The typical culprits… stress, spicy foods, sun, hormones. This went on all through my elementary, middle & high school years. Now remember, at this time (late 1970’s) there was no internet to research. If you wanted to look stuff up (do research) you went to an old fashion library with books, film, and research papers. I spent much of the next decade reading everything that was available regarding herpes (cold sores).

It was about 1993 that I found a possible solution. I will describe this in my next post but be assured that you do not have to suffer from embarrassing cold sores. I haven’t had one in over 20 years.

Cold Sores – Treatment vs. Prevention

So you feel a cold sore outbreak coming (only those of us who have suffered know that “tingly” feeling) and you decide to do some online research. The results…

The treatments tend to fall into the following types, home remedies, creams, ointments, numbing lotions and just waiting for them to heal. Well let’s look at three of the results:

Valacyclovir is a prescription drug used to treat cold sores around the mouth. It claims to reduce the severity and length of cold sore outbreaks. It costs about $25 per month (plus the cost of a doctors visit) and comes with the following side effects.
Abreva is a cream that claims to reduce the length time it takes to heal a cold sore up to 25%. It comes in a (~~small~~ really tiny tube 0.07 ounce) that costs about $16.99 at your local Wall-Mart.
LED (low intensity laser) is a treatment that claims to reduce both the time to heal and the occurrence frequency of cold sore outbreaks. The products range in price between $90 – $299 and must be carried with you so that when you get that “tingly” feeling you immediately begin to use it to prevent an outbreak.

All of these were listed on the first page when searching. Let me be honest with you, over the years I have gone deep into the google listings (20+ pages) looking for ANYONE who claimed to be able to PREVENT cold sores rather than treat an outbreak. I could not find a single one, that had a viable solution.

I started my journey of a way/product to prevent cold sores (in the 70’s) before ANY of the three options above were around. As a matter of fact the internet wasn’t even around. When I finally discovered how to prevent outbreaks with a tiny inexpensive capsule (non prescription for pennies a day) that could be taken with dinner daily (in the 90’s), these products were not available.

A typical outbreak lasts 7-10 days, and the most optimistic of the top three treatment claims to reduce healing time from 7-10 days to 4-5 days. I don’t know about you but when I suffered from embarrassing cold sores, reducing the time I had to try and cover them up was better than nothing but NOT a solution.

In next weeks post we will begin to review my journey into finding a fool-proof way to prevent 100% of cold sore outbreaks. We will discuss the culprit, the HSV-1 virus and why it is so hard to find a solution to problem that 67% of the population has by age 50.

I hope you find this information both helpful and informative, and discover that it is possible to prevent cold sore outbreaks.

Myths, Lies, and Half-truths

~~There are no cures for cold sores.~~ Myth
~~You cannot prevent cold sores only treat them when you get one.~~ Lie
~~If there were a way to prevent cold sores a drug company would patent it and make a fortune selling it as a prescription.~~ Half-truth

In this post I want to address the Myths, Lies and Half-truths surrounding cold sores and the cause of cold sores, the HSV-1 virus.

The Myth
According to WebMD, “Despite the name (cold sore), that isn’t what causes them. The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is most often the cause. You get it from contact with an infected person’s skin or body fluids. (If you have it, chances are you picked it up when you were a child. It most likely came from direct contact with someone who had it, like getting kissed (as a baby) by an adult with the virus.) Between outbreaks, HSV-1 hides inside nerve cells, so it’s never completely cured.” Ironically, if you read the web page thoroughly you will see the following “This content is selected and controlled by WebMD’s editorial staff and is supported by Abreva (owned by Glaxo-Smith Kline a major pharmaceutical company).

The facts are that as early as 1975, Science magazine reported that there was a product that inactivated lipid containing viruses (such as HSV-1). So what does that “inactivation” mean to you and me… If the virus in inactivated it means we cannot have a cold sore outbreak. Practically speaking, if we cannot root out and and eliminate the HSV-1 virus from every cell in our body then the next best thing is to prevent (read cure) the outbreak of cold sores. This is possible.

The Lie
There are a number of triggers for someone having a cold sore outbreak and according to the “experts” we should just try and avoid the items on the following list:

1) Stress (please tell me how this is done)
2) Fatigue (right, like that is possible)
3) Cold weather Move to the south)
4) Too much sun (oops, not to far south)
5) Spicy foods (no more Mexican or Thai food)
6) Hormonal changes (stop aging, how)
7) Dental Trauma (I guess one should avoid getting cavities)
8) Weakened immune system (don’t get sick)

The fact is it is impossible to avoid any (let alone all of these triggers). But if we assume we could avoid all of these (and still wanted to live), what other things trigger cold sores? The fact is that you and I want to stop getting ugly, embarrassing cold sores while enjoying our lives. Is this possible, you bet it is.

The Half-truth
So if it’s possible to prevent cold sore outbreaks, why hasn’t some big pharmaceutical company patented it and run ads on TV telling us to go to our doctors and get a prescription for a drug called CSbegone? To receive a patent on a product (20 years of protection to sell that product exclusively) in addition to other factors the product must have a novelty requirement. Novelty simply means the invention must be new. That is, it must differ from knowledge already existing in the public domain, prior patents, published applications, publications available to the public and items on sale.

For example, you and I could not get a patent to cure stinky feet with aspirin (if it worked). Why? Because aspirin is already a product available. Even though we may have discovered a new application for the use of aspirin, we could never receive a patent. So this means if a product now available to the public, were to be effective in preventing cold sores no one is going to invest the time and money to produce and market the product because in a matter of months they would have dozens of competitors selling their own version. They could not recoup the R&D, advertising, productions, etc. to make a profit?

It is my hope that you will find this information helpful, and yes it is possible to prevent cold sore outbreaks.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

This blog is about teaching you how you can stop suffering from ugly cold sores. Let me start by sharing my story.

My name is Dave Conley and I suffered from cold sores since I was in elementary school. Kids made fun of me (called me VD mouth). I was taken to the school office more than once in elementary school because they (teacher, nurse, etc.) thought I might be contagious. Throughout high school it was the same thing, every month or so I had another outbreak.

At the time I had no idea the cause and tried everything to get rid of them but was told that “you will just have to let them run their course of 7-10 days” by the doctors. In my early twenties (the 1980’s) I began researching the cause and possible preventive measures. My hope was to reduce my number of outbreaks.

I tried Lysine, almonds, avoiding spicy foods, avoiding lip balms, etc. but nothing seemed to work. It was after many years of research (by the way this was before Google) that I came across a couple of scientists doing study on life extension, and a little known study done in Bowling Green, KY in 1983. The researchers and scientists had stumbled across a common compound that when ingested kills the HSV-1 virus that is responsible for cold sore outbreaks.

Fast forward 30 years of taking this product, I am free from cold sores outbreaks. It is my hope that you will find this information helpful, and you too can prevent cold sore outbreaks.