How To Avoid Spreading Cold Sores

Cold sores are an extremely contagious virus and once you have had the infection, the virus is with you for life. Cold cores are the manifestation of the herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) and are sore blisters that people usually get around their mouth area, including their nostrils.

Although having the virus does not mean you have these blisters on your mouth constantly, they will continue to come up throughout your life. There is no definitive answer for what makes cold sores reappear, but they do tend to come back at times of stress, sickness, or hormonal changes. Therefore it is important to try and maintain good general health and try not to over-do things to avoid getting cold sores.

How Do Cold Sores Spread In Humans

Cold sores can be spread to someone else through direct contact. This means that when you have an active cold sore you should avoid physical contact between your infected area and other people. You should avoid kissing people, sharing things like drinks or lipsticks, and avoid physical contact with other people’s skin if you have not washed your hands thoroughly or recently.

The virus can spread if you have touched your own active cold sore with your hands and then touch someone else. For this reason you should ensure you wash your hands properly and more than you usually would to help stop the spread of cold sores to other people. This will also help you stop spreading the cold sore over your own body.

Cold sores are not restricted to your face and can appear anywhere on the body. Although genital herpes is made from the second stream of the herpes simplex virus, HSV-1 is also capable of causing cold sores to appear on your genital area. That is why it is a good idea to wash your hands before and after using the bathroom, to avoid spreading the infection to that area.

Indirect Contact

The virus can also spread through indirect contact. This means things like sharing a face-cloth, towel or clothes with someone when you are actively infected could spread the virus to them. It is important that you do not share anything that has touched your face with others when you have a cold sore.

It is also important to note that you don’t necessarily have to have an active cold sore to be infectious so constant vigilance is best for stopping the spread of cold sores.