Curious about how to cure cold sores? Read this short article. Discover the causes of cold sores and what you need to do to cure cold sores fast.

Stress or illness causes most cold sores. Stress includes anxiety about a wedding, job interview or a big date – frequent cold sore causes.

Stress of any sort affects your pH balance, oxygen levels and immunity.

The herpes simplex virus makes its home in your nerve fibers. Because of this it can quickly sense any change in your body such as temperature, pH or stress levels.

The herpes virus will continually watch for the perfect opportunity to replicate new virus. Then it quickly moves to the surface, infects the cells and starts the virus creation process. This destructive procedure causes your cold sore.

Now, make no mistake about it. Your body knows how to cure cold sores. And it will do so without your cold sore treatment help. But it is a very slow process that can often take three or more weeks.

You really do not want to carry around a cold sore that long. The sooner you cure your cold sores, the sooner you can enjoy your life again.

Here are the three main things that the herpes simplex virus needs to create oral herpes cold sores – and what you can do right now to combat this virus.

1. TOO MUCH ARGININE PROTEIN.

Arginine is the main protein (amino acid) needed to construct new herpes virus.

Lysine is a similar protein (amino acid) that has proven to be a great cold sore treatment. It works by replacing arginine stored in your cells. This creates a shortage of arginine and discourages the herpes virus from replicating.

Should the herpes simplex virus get to the surface and discover a shortage of arginine, it will usually just retreat back and become dormant again – watching for a future opportunity.

Many folks increase their lysine levels by avoiding high arginine foods and eating more lysine foods.

Go easy on nuts, seeds, chocolate, oats and wheat during a cold sore. These are high arginine foods. Take in more high lysine foods such as dairy products and fish.

More convenient than diet changes is the use of lysine supplements. They are safe, cheap and easy to find at the stores. 2000 to 4000 milligrams per day during a cold sore is a common cold sore treatment dose.

2. MOIST WARMTH ENCOURAGES VIRUS GROWTH.

A warm, moist area is ideal for the herpes virus to create new virus. Applying cold stops the replication process and often sends the virus back into hiding.

Get ice on your cold sore area as soon as you feel the warning tingling or itching. A cold soda will work also. The sooner you do this the better your results. You will at least delay the sore, or possibly even stop it.

Ice is a great cold sore treatment and cure for cold sores if used early and frequently.

3. ACID pH.

The main thing the herpes virus watches for is you to develop an acid pH balance.

The level of acidity of your body is your pH balance. A perfect pH level is 7.35 – slightly alkaline. At this level, your oxygen levels are high and your immunity great.

Your body will become acid with stress, colds, flu and cold weather. When this occurs your oxygen levels drop and your immunity weakens. This makes you a strong candidate for another cold sore.

Some foods that also cause your body to become acid include soda, beer, vinegar and processed foods. Vegetables are great for staying alkaline – especially cabbage products and asparagus.

In addition, start taking a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement. Look for high levels of calcium and B vitamins (the stress vitamins). Calcium is extremely important to keep your body alkaline.

If you truly want to know how to cure cold sores, follow the above recommendations. Along with sanitizing the area regularly with alcohol or peroxide, you can shorten your cold sore duration up to 50% or more.

Also, keep in mind that you are individual and unique. No one else is quite like you and never will be. Try other cold sore treatment methods until you find one or more that works best for YOU.

With your own testing, and the information you have just learned, you should certainly now know how to cure cold sores for good.