In support of World Menopause Day we’re talking all things related to menopause, one of which is cold sores.
Cold sores can be one of the menopausal symptoms if you are of menopausal age and you’re in the 50% of people who suffer from cold sores. You may find that as you begin to enter the stages of menopause your cold sore outbreaks are increasing both in intensity and frequency.
Consultant dermatologist Dr Eva Melegh outlines five reasons why menopause can trigger cold sore outbreaks and five tips to help prevent them
- Menopausal Hormonal Flux
Fluctuating hormone levels are one of the common cold sore triggers. Many women who suffer from cold sores get outbreaks during the onset of their periods. So imagine what the hormonal flux of entering menopause can do!
During perimenopause female hormones can fluctuate wildly sometimes from week to week and so the likelihood of cold sore being triggered more often and often with more intensity is significantly heightened during the initial stages of menopausal change.
2. Menopausal Make Up Mistakes
Many people have relied on a similar cosmetic routine for most of their adult life but as menopause looms, it might be time to switch up old habits in order to adapt to changes that happen in the skin as women enter menopause.
And that goes for lipsticks too. Anything that dries out the lips in a hazard to lips prone to cold sores but matt lipsticks and long-stay lipsticks are particular culprits so if you’ve been relying on these as part of your make up go-to’s, it may be time to make a change.
The very ‘mattness’ of matt lipsticks relies on drawing moisture out of the lips for the colour to stay put for longer and for there to be no shine.
3.Menopausal Insomnia
The menopausal decline of oestrogen contributes to disrupted sleep by causing menopausal symptoms from hot flushes and sweats (vasomotor symptoms). Lack of sleep directly weakens the immune system.
The cold sore virus lies dormant in the skin around the lips waiting for any weakness. As soon as immunity is impaired, the cold sore virus sees it’s opportunity to take hold and get activated.
4. Menopausal Dry Lips
The decline in oestrogen also causes the skin to become drier and more brittle as oestrogen is directly involved in the production of collagen which keeps skin more elastic.
This drop in collagen production is seen in the body’s extremities first and often the lips along with eyes are one of the first places to suffer menopausal dryness.
Dry lips can flake chap and crack more easily. Any form of micro trauma to lips allows the cold sore virus to rush in a wreak havoc.
5. Menopausal Anxiety & Depression
Low mood, anxiety and depression are all common menopausal symptoms and can lead to both insomnia and a lowered immune system, both of which can trigger a cold sore. In addition, anti-depressant medication can also be a cause for hormonal changes which can trigger cold sores.
Anxiety can also cause us to lick our lips more, touch our mouths, chew our lips more and generally agitate the mouth area, which can also trigger a cold sore outbreak.
5 tips to prevent menopausal cold sores
Lavish Lips With Liquorice
Lip Q Liquorice Balm is a natural lip balm designed for daily use which contains a highly concentrated extract of glycyrrhizic acid (liquorice root extract.)
Glycyrrhizic acid has found in published research to have anti viral action and a trial by the Herpes Virus Association found Lip Q Liquorice Balm reduced the severity and duration of cold sore outbreaks for the majority of trial participants.
Hold Off Hot Lips
Heat, especially sudden heat on the lip area, can trigger a cold sore as heat irritates the skin and causes micro inflammation which can in turn activate the dormant cold sore virus in the skin around the lips.
Tone down the heat and let your hot drink cool down to a tepid temperature before drinking it.
Say No To Nuts
The cold sore virus requires arginine (amino acid) to replicate and thrive in your body. Depriving the virus of arginine can help reduce the duration and severity of a cold sores.
Nuts and seeds are one of the richest sources of arginine so if you feel any tingling of a cold sore coming, say no to nuts.
Crank Up Collagen
Type 1 collagen is considered the best type of collagen supplement for menopause as it has an abundant role in supporting skin, hair, and nail health, as well as promoting bone strength and joint flexibility.
Lap Up Liquorice & Lemon Balm Tea
Liquorice root extract has a specific anti-viral action so is useful as a preventative against the herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores. Its also has mild sedative effects so can aide in better sleep is drunk before bedtime. Lemon Balm also has an anti-viral action and can be drunk as a herbal tea.
A combination of these two anti-viral teas drunk daily at tepid temperatures or as cold tea drinks can aide in the prevention and management of cold sore outbreaks.
