What Causes Cold Sores?
Article Sources
- 1. Tan, J. (2017, August 18). Is stress causing your cold sores? Www.Avogel.co.uk. https://www.avogel.co.uk/health/immune-system/cold-sores/is-stress-causing-your-cold-sores/
- 2. World. (2020, January 5). Herpes simplex virus. Who.Int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/herpes-simplex-virus
- 3. Hall, O. J., Klein, S. L. (2017). Progesterone-based compounds affect immune responses and susceptibility to infections at diverse mucosal sites. Mucosal Immunology, 10(5), 1097–1107. Nature Research. https://doi.org/10.1038/mi.2017.35
- 4. Cold Sore Triggers: Do Certain Foods Cause Outbreaks? (2020, January 27). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-sore-triggers
6. Sun Exposure or Sunburn
Heavy exposure to the sun can be another trigger for cold sores. It is thought that UV rays may have a negative impact on the immune system. It can be tricky differentiating lip blisters causes by sunburns from cold sores. Sunburn on the lips may appear as little white bumps while cold sores look more like ulcers.
Protecting the lips from the sun is the best preventive action people can take to prevent cold sores on sunny days. Wearing sunscreen on the lips or a lip balm of SPF 15 or higher has been shown to help keep cold sores at bay.
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