Klarinet Archive - Posting 000025.txt from 1995/02

From: Neil Leupold <Neil_Leupold@-----.COM>
Subj: On Cold Sores...
Date: Wed, 1 Feb 1995 18:27:30 -0500

On Cold Sores...
There is a word which is used to describe the cause of cold sores (a.k.a.
herpes, although most people don't like to acknowledge this) - a word which, in
itself, causes a physical reaction when spoken or even contemplated. The word:
STRESS

As one person already noted, his sores arose most commonly at times when his
workload was heaviest during the year, which would be a reasonable explanation
for an increased overall level of stress in one's life. We've been discussing
recently the subject of relaxation techniques relative to performance anxiety,
and perhaps it would be worthwhile to broaden the subject to include relaxation
techniques in order to minimize (and even diminish) the level of stress in
one's daily life, in addition to stress associated with the anxiety immediately
preceding a performance.

People respond to stress in their lives in a multitude of different manners,
but I've found myself to be highly susceptible to it and my body lets me know
immediately when I'm reaching my limit. Cold sores are a common signal of
stress, as any family practitioner or internist will tell you, and the fact
that these sores can actually debilitate a clarinetist due to the pain is a
solid reason for us to consider more wholistic methods of reducing their
occurrence, in addition to the topical medicines recommended thusfar (which
I've written down and will certainly investigate).

On the subject of topical and internal medicines, one which was not mentioned,
beyond Zilactin and Herpecin-L, is Lysine. It's a natural compound and is
found in capsule form in most food stores, and is very likely to be found in
health food stores. People's bodies respond differently to different
medicines, and my body eventually built up a tolerance to Lysine which
eliminated its curing effect on my cold sores. It may happen differently for
others and I recommend Lysine in addition to the others suggested.

Neil