Cold Sores Treatment
By Barbara Eastcairn
As there is no cure for cold sores (strictly, herpes simplex virus, type 1), treatment serves mainly to moderate the symptoms, which can include mouth blisters, fevers, mouth pain and a sore throat.
Creams or ointments which you can buy over-the-counter can be applied to the cold sore and help to soothe the blisters and encourage healing. Antiviral medicine (such as Acyclovir or Famciclovir) may lessen the pain or reduce the time the cold sore takes to heal over. These antivirals are prescription-only.
For people who get frequent and debilitating attacks of cold sores, oral antiviral medicine may be prescribed to be taken every day, to reduce the number of cold sore episodes (they won’t stop them entirely). Your physician or pharmacist will be able to advise you about this kind of cold sores treatment.
There are also many natural or complementary medicines which are on offer now as cold sores treatment. Because cold sores usually heal on their own after a few days anyway, it is difficult to assess these in the normal way. With this in mind, traditionally many people have used the herb lemon balm (applied as an ointment, or as a liquid made from boiling up the leaves) to ease the symptoms of cold sores, while more recently vitamin C tablets or creams have been used to speed up healing.
Cold sores treatment can also involve other methods. It helps many people if they avoid eating acidic foods while they have cold sores. This includes things like oranges and tomatoes. Very salty or spicy foods should also be avoided.
Protecting the lips from the sun (by wearing a hat, or simply staying out of the sun) can help; using lip balm at all times to cover the areas of your mouth which are prone to cold sores may help to prevent them happening. You should also protect your lips and mouth from cold winds.
Cold sores got their name because it was formerly believed they came with cold weather.
Placing something cool on the cold sore itself, such as a damp towel or a cloth-wrapped ice pack may reduce the pain and swelling.
Natural antiseptics like tea tree oil may help to heal the blisters.
Many people take lysine, as a dietary supplement, to help with prevention or as a cold sore treatment to help with recovery. Lysine is an amino acid found in cereals and pulses.
As cold sore outbreaks usually occur when your immune system is overtaxed, for example when you are under a lot of stress, it will help if you can avoid or limit stressful episodes in your life.
This of course may not be subject to your control. Many people find that after the active and mobile years of their teens and twenties are over, and they settle down to have a family, cold sore attacks become much less frequent.
Carry on reading: to see more about the treatments for cold sores which are available, check our dedicated cold sores page at eastcairn.com.
Barbara Eastcairn writes about all the health issues which really matter.
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Hair Shampooing TipsBy Sushma Jain
Shampooing is essential to everyone's hair care routine, regardless of hair type or texture. You should shampoo as often as necessary to keep your hair looking clean and your scalp comfortable. This may range from shampooing daily to shampooing only once a week, depending on how oily your hair is, the level of physical exercise you indulge in, the environment, your hairstyle and any scalp problems. Those who have oily hair, exercise daily, or live or work in dirty environments may need to shampoo daily, while others need to shampoo less frequently.
The frequency of shampooing hair depends on the type of hair and scalp, and also on the environment in which you are living and on the type of work you do. Shampoo your hair twice a week in summers. If you have greasy hair, you will need to wash them frequently say twice or thrice a week. This is especially necessary, if the environment you work in is dirty. Frequent shampooing is not harmful for the hair not does it cause any hair loss. However, daily shampooing of very dry hair and overzealous manipulation cause hair breakage which may be mistaken for hair loss.
Shampoo is quite different from conditioners which attempt to increase the overall ease of handling hair. Shampoos are used to clean this dirt off from the hair. The development of science in this region has seen various ingredients being used to get better results. However many shampoos can only make the hair look brighter after use. But they make it unhealthy with the ingredients that are left behind on the hair. Therefore it becomes imperative that you choose the correct kind of shampoo for your hair.
Tips For Hair Shampooing:
1. The selection of the shampoo should depend upon the hair type.
2. Egg shampoo is good for dry hair but avoid products which contain alcohol as they will dry out the hair even further.
3. For oily hair use some mild shampoo.
4. Do not scrub or over massage.
5. It is better to rinse thoroughly with Luke warm water.
6. Shampooing can be done as often as required to keep the hair clean and healthy, as long as you condition regularly.
Ideal Method
1. Prepare the hair for shampooing.
2. Before wetting your hair for shampooing, comb through with a wide toothed comb to prevent tangles.
3. Mix and adjust the water flow.
4. Wet the hair and scalp thoroughly.
5. Apply the shampoo to the hair by first pouring it into your hand and never directly.
6. Massage the whole head.
7. Apply more shampoo and massage for the second time if needed, finally rinse all shampoo from the hair and scalp with clean water.
8. Finally check the hair lines and make sure that the dirt and shampoo has been removed from hair and scalp.
9. Dry the hair gently.
10. Avoid blow drying as far as possible.
Methods of shampooing:
1. Brush your hair before shampooing to get rid of dirt and dead skin from the head.
2. Wet the hair with spray, so as to saturate the underneath layer as well as the top ones with water.
3. Add shampoo in little water and mix both well.
4. Massage gently on the roots with the fingertips in circular motion covering the entire head.
5. Work the shampoo into the bulk of hair over the top layers.
6. Rinse with water until shampoo has been completely washed off.
Sushma writes articles on homemade beauty recipes and beauty tips. She also writes articles on makeup tips and advice.
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Power To Change
By Daniel Belcher
How do we find power for change? There are some basic practices that will help us to make meaningful changes in our lives. The power to change lies within each us. We must recognize the value of learning positive practices that will help us to make dynamic changes in our lives. The power to change is within our grasps.
Action is one of the key elements to change. We must be ready to take some kind of action for change to take place. Positive talk is good, but action must be in the picture for effective change to take place. You must have a plan of action; list your steps. Do not put your plan of actions to far out in the distance future. Taking action sooner then later will help you to feel good about your change.
Another element that supports the power to change is motivation. When we begin to take positive actions toward change we often become motivated. Motivation is like a flame that turns into a fire. Our motivation will help us to continue on the road to successful powerful changes in our lives. Motivation is a by product of right actions, if there are no right it will be hard to get motivated.
Focusing must be part of the process to having the power to change. If we are not focused, it will be hard to change. We will expend a lot of energy without the ability to focus. The ability to focus will increase our ability to make positive changes. Our power to change is related to how focused we can become. By becoming more focused we have the power to make more changes.
In positive writings and books we can find the strength, courage and power to make real changes in our lives. The set aside scriptures can be used as a main source of gaining the courage needed to accomplish this task. Let us find the time to read these types of writings. A regular habit of reading the right materials will give you the strength for powerful changes.
The power to change is within our reach; we must walk the path.
I retired from United States Navy in 2003, after serving over 21 years of enlisted active duty onboard several different ships and a few shore assignments. I am married. My wife and i have two daughters. We have two dogs, Chow Chow's, to be exact. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Arts (Focus area Psychology) from Excelsior College class 2004. http://belwrites.com
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