Cold Sore Stages Of Healing
Once infected with the herpes simplex virus, which is responsible for cold sores, the average a cold sore sufferer experiences a new attack once every 10 months. The problem with the virus is that once infected the body cannot get rid of it, which is bad news for sufferers as it means that there are currently no complete cold sore cures, either natural or pharmaceutical; however, the symptoms can be treated and the impact of this unpleasant condition minimized.
There are several distinct stages in the typical cold sore attack and here we look at each stage and how best to treat it with natural remedies.
The initial symptoms of a cold sore attack are so mild that they are hardly noticeable, with the sufferer experiencing a tingling sensation in the affected area, which may be experienced as itching, dryness or a burning sensation. However it is experienced, it indicates that the virus is now moving from the nerve cells where it has being lying dormant, to the surface of the skin, which means that the next stage will usually occur between 12 and 36 hours later. The application of ice to the affected area for 30 minutes at this stage can help prevent the sore from being so severe, or in some cases prevent its appearance altogether. Lysine rich foods or supplements are also encouraged to diminish the impact of the sore.
Some people experience swelling in affected area and then small bumps that appear to be small, painful pimples, which combine to form a larger, fluid filled blister. Some sufferers also experience symptoms such as a headache and slight fever and swollen lymph glands due to the effect of the virus. Continue to take lysine at this stage.
Stage 3: Open Lesions
The blister usually bursts after a few days, weeping clear fluid. It is important to remember that the fluid is highly contagious and so you should be extremely careful about washing your hands, particularly if you have touched the sore or fluid. Not only can the virus be passed on to other people, but you can spread it to other parts of your own body. The application of aloe vera, lemon balm, a topical lysine remedy or tea tree oil can all help at this stage of an attack as they act both to sooth the pain and reduce swelling and possess anti-viral properties, while covering the lesion with a product such as Vaseline can help protect it from secondary infections.
After a few days the open lesion will begin to scab over, although it can be painful to touch. Cracking and bleeding is common, but with the progression of healing comes relief from irritation and other symptoms. The sore remains contagious at this stage and so care with hygiene must still be exercised, and it is often beneficial to keep the scab moisturized to prevent cracking with one of the creams mentioned in the previous stage.
After a few days the scabs is lost revealing new skin underneath. Since the sore continues to heal below the skin's surface, itching and redness may continue to be experienced for a few days longer.
As you can see there are steps that can be taken during each stage of a new outbreak. While absolute cold sore cures are currently out of the question, the symptoms can be treated to improve your quality of life during an outbreak, which typical lasts 7-10days. You should also take steps to boost your immune system to reduce the number of attacks you experience, which although may require some lifestyle changes can make a huge difference to the lives of chronic sufferers.
New treatment could reduce sub-Saharan Africa newborn deaths – LSHTM
Source: alertnet // Julie Mollins
Mothers hold their children in Nairobi's Kibera slum in this file picture. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
LONDON (AlertNet) - Clinical trials are underway to test a new treatment for pregnant women, which could tackle some of the leading preventable causes of death for babies in sub-Saharan Africa, researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) said on Tuesday.
A large number of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with both malaria and sexually transmitted - reproductive tract infections (STIs - RTIs), according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Each year an estimated 25 million women in sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of malaria infection during pregnancy, the study said. Malarial infection heightens the risk of miscarriage, still births, or premature birth and death.
There are 880,000 stillbirths and 1.2 million newborn deaths each year in sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are linked to maternal infections in general , according to the study.
Almost four of every 10 women being treated in a health clinic in the region are infected with malaria, it said. Many women are also infected with such STIs and RTIs as syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, trichomononiasis and bacterial vaginosis, according to the report.
Researchers from LSHTM are working as part of an international group conducting clinical trials of combined anti-malarial and antibiotic treatment that could prevent and treat malaria and STIs-RTIs in pregnancy at the same time. “We are now conducting trials of azithromycin-based combination treatment to give all pregnant women preventative medication that will clear placental malaria infection, protect against re-infection in between antenatal visits, and cure syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and, to a lesser extent, trichomononiasis, the most common STI in the world,” said lead author Matthew Chico, an epidemiologist at LSHTM.
“If given in early pregnancy, combined treatment may also reduce bacterial vaginosis, which affects half of all pregnant women in the region.”
Malaria and STIs-RTIs also contribute to low birth-weight, the leading cause of deaths of newborn babies, it said. Researchers are hopeful that combined treatment could also overcome the problem of widespread anti-malarial drug resistance.
1984 Bike Tour: Day 5 – Discovering gravity the hard way;And traffic volume then and now » Biking Bis
Thursday, May 17, 1984Mineral to Charlottesville, Va.57 miles
I’m reprinting day-to-day journal entries here from a cross-country bicycle tour my friend Bruce and I took in 1984. Read more journal entries at TransAmerica Tour 1984.
Our Bikecentennial guidebook calls this the rolling Piedmont of Louisa and Hanover counties. Contemplating the issue of gravity on the porch of Kent’s Store, I decided I’m carrying too much stuff.
These might be called rollercoaster hills, but they aren’t as much fun as an amusement park. I speed downhill at top speed, cross a creek, then begin the uphill struggle. All that momentum is lost the moment the slope changes.
Even though I had installed a triple chainring, giving me 15 gears, I can’t downshift fast enough to sustain any speed. I’m either jamming the chain or dropping down to the lowest gears, spinning the pedals furiously to make any progress.
We took a lunch break at the old Kent’s Store. There’s a long wooden porch high off the ground, making a handy place to lean a bicycle, sit, and dangle weary legs. The snack bar inside provided sandwiches and cold drinks.
We met two older cross-country cyclists coming from the opposite direction, finishing their trip. They hadn’t started on the West Coast, not this year. They’ve been taking four weeks off each summer to ride it section-by-section. They expected to be finished last year, but the husband developed a serious case of saddle sores.
This usually starts as a mere pimple on a person’s butt that becomes infected due to less than perfect hygiene … those wet, warm bicycling shorts are a rich environment to raise bacteria. Anyway, he was in great pain after crossing from Kentucky into Virginia, so a Methodist minister they met up in the Appalachians drove them to a hospital in Charlottesville where he was swabbed up and sent home.
After a year off, they’ve returned to finish their journey.
Charlottesville was our destination today. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and dozed in the sun on the University of Virginia campus while we waited for the sister of one of Bruce’s friends to get off work so we could crash at her apartment.
We just about trashed that apartment. Not on purpose, but with our bicycles and gear strewn all over the place, there was hardly room to move around.
Headline: May 17, 1984 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mario Soto strikes out four batters in the 3rd inning (becomes only 11th NL pitcher to do so at that time).
(No Bruce’s Journal today)
Note: Something that I’ve wondered about is how much traffic levels have grown in the past 25 years since Bruce and I took that bike trip.
I’ve moved around a lot during that time, so it’s hard to compare one location over time. I recall going back to Annapolis for some bike riding a few years ago, and being struck at how congested some of my old bike routes were. Bruce confirms that he avoids many of the old training routes we used to ride.
The Missouri Bicycle Federation recently published a graphic from the Federal Highway Administration that shows the skyrocketing traffic volumes on US roads and highways since 1983.
The volume of traffic has nearly doubled since Bruce and I took this trip. The good news is that volume has leveled off and slightly decreased recently. Whether that trend will continue is unknown.
Day 4: Give me bicycle touring or give me death
Day 6: Rest day; mailing gear back home
About the picture – The inviting Kent Country Store
View 1984 Bicycle Tour in a larger map