Cold sores really caused by dehydration?

Question

Some people say cold sores can't be a result of severe dehydration.

For my example, I have not gotten a cold sore in years. I recently started up Soccer practice and did a lot of sprinting on the field during the scrimmage. My mouth dried up to a point where I could not summon any more saliva. I could barely even speak when I asked my coaches if I could take a break to get some water.

Right at the end of that day, a cold sore appeared on the right side of my lip. And I've heard of herpes and all that how cold sores appear on the genital area? I've never had anything like that. So what's the deal? What is this? Is it really bad? This happens rarely.

Answer 1

A flare up of cold sores can be caused by dehydration, spending too much time in the sun, increased stress such as a new job, a weakened immune system because of a cold, and so on.  However, the cold sore will only happen if you already have the cold sore virus, the herpes virus, in your body.

Many of us already have the cold sore virus dormant in our bodies, and never have a flare up of cold sores.  We contracted it as children, as it is a very common virus, and children pick it up easily as they often share food and drinks, and may be less concerned about hand washing and hygiene.   Cold sores can be transmitted even when the person does not have a cold sore, though it is less likely to happen then.  

There is no over-the-counter medication or home remedy that cures cold sores.  Only time will take care of that.  But there is a good prescription medication for cold sores.  It will make them go away much faster, and as a result of taking this medication you will have far fewer outbreaks of cold sores.

The absolute best treatment for cold sores is a prescription medication in pill form called Valtrex.  It was intended for genital herpes, but cold sores are caused by the same family of viruses, and Valtrex stops colds sores in their tracks.  None of the other treatments come close to the effectiveness of Valtrex, not the ointment Zovirax, and certainly not Abreva or anything else.  Ask your doctor about it to see if you would be a good candidate for this medication.  My doctor prescribed it for me for cold sores about five years ago and after taking it only a couple of times I hardly ever get a cold sore any more, and before Valtrex I was having several attacks a year.  On the rare occasions that I do get one now, it is gone almost immediately when I take the medication - in about a day.    In the meantime, here are a couple of informative links.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-t...

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/ach...

Answer 2

cold sores are a form of herpes

Sometimes sunlight and stress can bring on an outbreak

Answer 3

Cold sores are herpes... you can spread your "cold sores" to the genital area and it would be "genital herpes". You will only have outbreaks on your mouth unless you spread it to your genitals... So right now you only have "oral herpes" which will only cause oral outbreaks.

Dehydration COULD induce an outbreak, due to the fact that when your lips are severely dry it would cause them to crack... Herpes will follow the path of least resistance, so cracked or dried lips would make it easier for an outbreak to occur... that is one of the reasons they are called "cold sores", because they usually occur in the colder months when your lips are dry and irritated making it more common to have an outbreak and also because when you have a cold your immune system is low which makes it easier/common for you to have an outbreak. (your immune system has a lot to do with outbreaks also)

No its not really bad, its just a minor skin infliction, it is not life threatening or anything.

Use a lip moisturizer with sunblock to help prevent this from happening in the future. You can also buy some abreava or some other "cold sore" cream from a pharmacy and it will help your outbreak heal faster.