Why do you get painful blisters on your lips during the winter season?

As the winter season approaches, it brings various delightful and intriguing things like shorter days with longer nights, chilly air with low humidity, and so forth. On the other hand, the wintertime is bound to cause a few illnesses like common cold, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, skin ailments, etc.

Likely, your mouth cavity can suffer quite a bit in the cold season. Some instances include toothaches, canker sores, sore throat, and strep throat. Even though these issues can happen any time of the year, the colder climate makes them more likely to occur.

In this blog article, our dentists unveiled the essential facts about the painful blisters around the lips during winter.

What is a cold sore?

Cold sores are inflamed, tiny blisters that develop on or near the mouth. This condition is also known as fever blisters and oral herpes. They often appear as a single blister or a group of blisters which are typically caused due to infection with Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV).  

Even though it is highly contagious, it is harmless in most circumstances and typically heals in 1 or 2 weeks.

How does the winter weather provoke cold sores?

Researchers found that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV -1) causes cold sores. The cold sores begin to develop due to this virus being fed by various factors like cold.

Dentists reveal that cold weather can potentially reactivate HSV-1, so oral herpes is more likely to develop around the cold season. Aside from colds, various factors are also responsible for developing oral herpes. Example: Stress, Sunburn, Fatigue, Hormonal changes, etc.

Here are the ways how cold weather provokes cold sores:

• Dry lips – The lips may get parched when the environmental temperature turns too cool; consequently, the lips become more susceptible to developing cold sores.
• Room heating activities – The virus spreads more quickly due to actions like heating our homes to combat cold weather, which is why cold sores frequently happen throughout the winter.
• Winter health problems – Common winter problems can also trigger oral herpes. For instance, Arthritis. Needless to say, arthritis inflammation worsens in cold seasons. It is followed by the overproduction of stress hormone called Cortisol, which can weaken the immune system and tend to develop cold sores.
• Weak immune system – The immune system of people with insufficient vitamin D can be weakened when the temperature turns so cool. It also tends to develop cold sores.

What should you do to treat winter cold sores?

As discussed earlier, cold sores exist until the HSV-1 virus stays inside your body. Typically, it declines on its own in 1 to 2 weeks. If you want to speed up the healing process, consider the following recommendations:

• Take Antiviral medications
• Apply cold sore ointment over the blisters

Even though pills and medications are available to treat oral herpes, they are active only if the medicines are taken within the first 48 hours of the infestation.

Hence, indulging in activities to protect yourself from developing cold sores during winter is wise.

How can you avoid developing winter cold sores?

To say a long story short, you should prevent the HSV-1 virus from using various pathways of your body to cause fluid-filled blisters. Here are the prevention tips we recommend:

• Keep your lips hydrated
• Take Vitamin D rich foods
• Indulge in essential activities to enhance your immunity
• Manage your stress effectively
• Drink plenty of water
• Take 7 to 8 hours long nap every day
• Take L-Lysine supplements

Similar to winter toothache, cold sores are also common during wintertime. They develop around the mouth in more than one way. Hence you should maintain a healthy lifestyle and an effective dental care routine to avert winter cold sores.

Want more tips to tackle winter cold sores or prevent them from developing? Get in touch with the dentists in our Tambaram dental clinic.