Cold Sore Myths - Debugging the Myths Surround Cold Sores

With all the information on the internet about cold sores there are bound to be some cold sore myths floating around it. The worst thing is just like Chinese whispers as the change happens it is passed onto person to person and they will believe because it was passed on from someone else. This means that there will be a lot of bad information around meaning that you not only waste your time but also your money if you've used any on cold sore myths.So here are a few myths which are completely bogus and should be avoided at all costs.You Can't Spread Cold Sores To OthersThis is the most important to understand, you can spread cold sores to others, even if they don't appear right away you have given them the virus which can stay dormant for an elongated period of time.All the virus needs is for their immune system to take a shock due to a cold or stress and then it takes that opportunity to attack so you need to avoid touching the area and others (you need to avoid touching the area full stop as this can be very bad for the area).It Is Only Spreadable To Your MouthUnfortunately this isn't true, the virus can be spread to other parts of your body not just the lips and the mouth.If you move the virus from your mouth to other areas (via touching) you are enabling it to spread. For example rubbing your eyes could cause the virus to infect this area, other areas that can be affected are the cheeks, nose and also the genital area.For these reason you NEED to avoid touching your cold sore no matter how irritating it is for you.They Are Only Present When You Have A ColdYes it is in the name and do appear when you have a cold but the reason for this is that your immune system is low. This is when they appear not only when you're ill.There are other factors such as stress, fatigue, illness, fever and trauma which are all times when your immune system can be lowered and then the virus can attack.Obviously you can't control being ill or not but you can take zinc lozenges which you can use to help boost your immune system when you're ill so that your body has a chance to fight back and that is not a cold sore myth.