Cold sores tend to develop when your immune system is weakened. This is because, at these low points, it is easier for the HSV-1 virus to replicate, since your body's defences don't put up as much of a fight as they would normally do.
Cold sores and herpes are inextricably linked. The virus that causes cold sores is a type of oral herpes – herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Genital herpes, which is most often connected to sexually transmitted diseases, is caused by the HSV-2 strain of this virus.
Without any treatment, most cold sores will heal within twelve days, but that is a long time to suffer from this painful condition, not to mention the often unpleasant visible signs of the virus.
Around 20-30% of the population suffer from cold sore outbreaks yet, thankfully, there are a variety of treatments available which can reduce symptoms and potentially speed healing.
Read more: Find the best cold sore treatment by avoiding bad remedies
Getting to the supermarket from my apartment is pretty easy: I simply step out of the door, take a left, head down the street, take another left, first right – sorted. Alternatively, if those directions are a bit complicated (luckily for me, they aren’t) there are other ways for me to communicate this information, such as downloading a map from Google or using satellite navigation programs.
