Stress and Cold Sores
Posted on | November 29, 2007 | 6 Comments
“You have HERPES!” L-Train chortled when I pointed out the cold sore on my lip this morning.
“But it’s the innocent kind!” I protested, albeit rather ashamedly.
Yes, I get cold sores on my lip from time to time. I only get them when I’m REALLY stressed – it’s really the only outside indicator of stress in my life, since I’m a pretty lowkey person. But I also know when a cold sore starts to come up (always in the exact same place on my upper lip) that I need to take stock and figure out what I’m stressed about. Usually it’s easy to figure out. But not this time.
Am I stressed about Christmas? Not really (although I haven’t started my Christmas shopping, which might be stressing me out).
Am I stressed about the White Elephant party next week? No – because we’re going to have 25-30 people in attendance which is normal for us, and we’re well under way to being ready for it.
Am I stressed about my business? A little bit – but it’s not like the money I make from the paintings and blankets is required to put food on the table, and I’ve already decided to stop painting altogether and just stick with blankets.
Am I stressed about my home life? No more than usual.
So I have no idea what could be causing it this time around.
As for getting them in the first place, that’s a story that will make anyone laugh, I suppose. I had been out of college for about a year or two, and was dating this cute little raver boy that I met at a club. One morning I woke up to find half of one side of my mouth covered in sores and I felt like a leper. I was appropriately freaked out and went to the doctor, who upon taking one look at me said, “You have herpes,” (must like L-Train’s announcement this morning).
“I do not!”
He smiled at me and said, “Relax – there are two different kinds of herpes, and you don’t have the really bad one. Chances are you kissed someone who is a carrier, and if you had chapped lips it could have entered your body that way.”
He gave me a prescription, sent me on my way, and that night when my boyfriend came over I railed at him before the door even shut behind him. “YOU DID THIS TO ME!” I screeched, bringing my mouth to without a few inches of his eyes so he could take a good look. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
He just laughed (which was no surprise looking back at it now) and said, “You can’t prove that I gave you that.”
“Buddy, I have NEVER had something like this EVER in my life. I date you for one month and all of a sudden I’m hideous. Oh trust me, I KNOW it’s your fault.”
We broke up two months later – and don’t make me tell that story either, which is quite humiliating for me and not the focus of this post right now.
In any case, I still felt like a leper going to work with half my mouth looking like I’d kissed the pavement at 60 mph. But after a week on medication it was gone and I didn’t get another breakout for a year. And that’s how it has been for 15 years. Every 12-18 months I get a cold sore and I remember to relax and let things go.
Fortunately my flareups are no longer as bad as that first breakout. In fact, the one I have now is really not that noticable unless you know to look for it.
If you liked that post, read on...
The Shoes Were No Help on October 30th, 2004
The Weekend Itself on January 29th, 2007
Finally Done! on May 24th, 2005
On Friday It's OVAH! on February 3rd, 2010
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November 29th, 2007 @ 11:50 am
You may already know this – but just in case
L-Lysine (you can usually find it at the supermarket with all the other vitamin supplements, otherwise GNC has it, but I’ve never had trouble finding it at Safeway) will really shorten the duration of a cold sore. If I know I’m getting to a stressful time, I usually will just take this for a week or so and ward them off at the pass (though if I forget, it helps to really kick them to the curb faster too.)
beth’s last blog post..L is for Loser
November 29th, 2007 @ 1:42 pm
I am no Dr., but I play one on TV.
Isn’t herpes a Virus that can lay dorment for a very long time before it rears its ugly head?
November 29th, 2007 @ 1:46 pm
Oh.. and eat Lentels.
Very High in Lysine I hear/read
November 29th, 2007 @ 4:05 pm
You can also ask your dr. for a running rx of Valtrex – it really does help if you take it when you have the 1st tingle. For some reason I get cold sores when the seasons change in Fall and Spring.
November 30th, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Abreva works good for shortening the duration of cold sores for me. I get them when I’m stressed, too.
November 30th, 2007 @ 10:20 am
Cristan – since I only get them once a year it doesn’t make sense for me to get a prescription, but if I got them more frequently I’d be all over that.
Bev- I almost bought Abreva yesterday but that little tiny tube was $15!! Forget it! I bought Zilactin and put it on when I got home yesterday. It did it’s thing and today it is much improved. I’ll put it on again tonight and hopefully that’ll do the trick.