The fact that cold sores are so commonplace – around 3.7 billion people worldwide are thought to suffer from them – means it is easy to feel blasé or even complacent about the virus. It is tempting for many to say, "Don't worry, it's only a cold sore. Take your cold sore treatment and get on with it".
However, the truth is that however commonplace and however benign the virus might be – although in a small minority of cases those with weakened immune systems may have their lives threatened by an outbreak – it can actually be very difficult to live with, particularly if you are prone to frequent and persistent outbreaks.
All too often, those who experience outbreaks find the established high street cold sore treatments to be unsatisfactory and lacking real efficacy. As a result, they are left feeling powerless in the face of another outbreak, uncomfortable with sores and scabs, visibly blighted and, sometimes, stigmatised by the appearance of sores on their face.
This has an inevitable mental health impact. It can lead to depression, OCD, anxiety, social phobia and more. Around 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some form of mental health problem each year, and it is easy to see how a cold sore can trigger or exacerbate symptoms. After all, our faces are the major aspect of our real world avatars and anything that interferes with the way we feel about the appearance of our faces can be psychologically debilitating.
In fact, one report in the journal Schizophrenia Research describes how cold sores are associated with the kinds of reductions in concentration, memory and coordination that are frequently the early warning signs of schizophrenia. This is not to say that cold sores cause schizophrenia or even that they increase the chances of the disease – more that the association should serve as a useful reminder that cold sores are caused by a virulent and complex virus that clearly has an impact on the mental health of sufferers. Telling people to apply cold sore treatment and get on with it fails to understand this. We should not let the commonplace nature of any condition block us from empathising with those who suffer from it.
