New Cold Sore Laser Treatment Now Available

Cold sores, also known as fever blisters or oral herpes (HSV-1), are tiny, fluid-filled blisters on and around your lips.

They might seem like a minor issue, but when a painful and unsightly cold sore outbreak develops before a major work presentation or important social event, you need relief immediately.

Though cold sores can’t be cured, you have the ability to quickly and effectively treat them with Luminance RED, a new and advanced cold sore laser treatment now available to the public.

What Triggers Cold Sores?

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). This condition is so common that it’s estimated at least 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 have HSV-1 infection worldwide!

The herpes simplex virus is highly contagious, especially when oozing blisters are present. Once it enters your system, this virus spreads easily to trigger cold sores around the lips and mouth.

The virus remains dormant in the nerve cells in your skin after your initial outbreak. It may lie inactive for weeks, months, or even years. It’s hard to predict exactly when and how the next outbreak will be triggered in the future, but these external factors are the most common causes of cold sores:

• - Stress
• - Fatigue
• - Hormonal changes
• - Another viral infection
• - Injury to the skin
• - Unusual exposure to sunlight and wind

How Do People Get Cold Sores?

The herpes simplex virus spreads through direct contact with the skin. It’s highly contagious, partly because the infection can spread even when cold sores aren’t visible.

You may develop cold sores after coming in contact with the herpes simplex virus through kissing or sharing common objects like water bottles, silverware, and toothbrushes with a person who is already infected.

If you’re experiencing an outbreak or know somebody who is, use these tips to ensure the best hygiene habits:

• - Avoid direct physical contact
• - Don’t share items such as cups, towels, silverware, or lip balm
• - Wash hands thoroughly and frequently
• - Apply medication with cotton swabs to reduce contact with sores
• - Don’t pick at your sores or touch them with your hands

Cold Sore Treatment Options

Unfortunately, there’s no cure for cold sores, but a number of treatment options are available to speed up the healing process and reduce discomfort during outbreaks.

Orajel

Orajel™ provides pain relief in and around the mouth. Its formula includes six active ingredients shown to treat the pain, itching, and dryness caused by cold sores. It can be applied three times a day to help you stay comfortable through an outbreak.

Orajel™ minimizes the pain and discomfort of cold sores with benzocaine, a local anesthetic that blocks nerve signals in the body. As a result, it increases comfort but doesn’t accelerate the healing process or prevent future cold sore outbreaks.

Abreva

Abreva® is also an over-the-counter cream used to treat cold sores and fever blisters, but it works differently. Abreva®  contains the only non-prescription ingredient approved by the FDA to accelerate the cold sore healing process. This OTC treatment can be used up to five times a day, or as directed by your doctor.

Abreva® is easy to find and use, and it’s unique for containing the only non-prescription ingredient approved by the FDA to limit cold sore outbreaks. However, Abreva® cannot prevent the spread of herpes or stop future outbreaks from occurring.

Acyclovir

Acyclovir is an antiviral prescription medication available in tablet, capsule, or liquid form. It’s used to decrease the pain and increase the healing time of sores and blisters caused by chickenpox, shingles, genital herpes, and cold sores. This antiviral medication stops the spread of the herpes virus in the body, which in turn helps outbreaks heal.

Acyclovir has the ability to reduce the effects of herpes outbreaks and suppress future outbreaks from occurring, but it also poses a long list of potential side effects. These include upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, joint pain, and hair loss. If you experience any symptoms after taking acyclovir, be sure to call your doctor.

Lysine

Lysine is an essential amino acid in the body. It helps the body produce antibodies that fight infections, including the herpes virus. Lysine supplements, also known as L-lysine, are popular natural treatments for cold sores.

Lysine is a natural treatment with a limited amount of clinical research to prove its efficacy. Many people prefer lysine as an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs and ingredients, but more research is needed to officially confirm its benefits.

Luminance RED

Traditional over-the-counter cold sore treatments are helpful but deliver limited results. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) offers an innovative and clinically proven treatment method to both shorten healing time and lower the likelihood of future outbreaks.

Cold sore laser therapy with LLLT is conducted by applying specific wavelengths of light to cold sores with specific energy output. Though it’s effective, it’s also cost and time prohibitive, which is why Luminance RED uses LED technology to produce the same wavelengths and energy output.

Luminance RED is a breakthrough cold sore treatment designed to shorten the healing time of active outbreaks and prevent future outbreaks altogether. The Luminance RED device nourishes the skin with light, which is metabolized into ATP (adenosine triphosphate or cellular energy) to accelerate the body’s healing process and strengthen its defenses against future attacks.

NEED A QUICK OVERVIEW OF

HOW LIGHT CAN TREAT COLD SORES?

Short on time? Watch this short video that summarizes of some of the key findings resulting from recent clinical trials.

What’s the Difference Between Cold Sores and Genital Herpes?

Cold sores and genital herpes have many similarities. They’re both members of the Herpesviridae family of DNA viruses, so they share many of the same characteristics and symptoms, including recurring infections and painful sores.

However, each condition is caused by a different strain of the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Cold sores are classified as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) while genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2).

Cold sores are easily spread through simple touch and typically develop on or around the mouth. A tingling or burning sensation marks the first sign a sore about to erupt. Cold sores tend to cause pain and discomfort for seven to ten days until they burst, scab, and heal.

Genital herpes, meanwhile, is most often transmitted through intimate contact with a sexual partner and causes sores and blisters to develop around the genital area. These painful sores eventually break open and may cause flu-like symptoms. After the first outbreak, recurring genital herpes outbreaks tend to heal within three to seven days. The number of outbreak periods may even decrease over time.

Clinical Studies That Support Cold Sore Laser Treatment

Whether you’re suffering from a painful cold sore or you’re determined to prevent your next HSV-1 outbreak from occurring, you don’t want to spend your time and money on treatments that provide temporary or unreliable results.

The efficacy of the Luminance RED treatment has been proven in numerous clinical studies, so you can trust that two minutes of Luminance RED therapy a day will reduce healing time and decrease your risk of future outbreaks.

Low-Intensity Laser Therapy is an Effective Treatment for Recurrent Herpes Simplex Infection

In this study, researchers selected a group of participants who not only had HSV-1, but had a “recurrent infection,” defined as having at least one herpes attack per month for more than 6 months, independent of any known triggering mechanism such as fever, sun exposure, or menstruation.

The results found that patients who received treatment averaged 37.5 weeks (263 days) before their next cold sore episode, whereas those who did not receive treatment averaged 3 weeks (21 days).

What caused the treatment to have such a big impact?

When assessing why treatment had such a substantial impact on recurrence, an indirect effect of LLLT on cellular and humoral components of the immune system involved in antiviral responses rather than a direct virus-inactivating effect was proposed.

This means that the treatment is suggested to actually strengthen the immune function against the HSV-1 virus, which prevents future outbreaks from reoccurring.

Comparing the Effect of Diode Laser Against Acyclovir Cream for the Treatment of Herpes Labialis

In this placebo-controlled study, researchers found that patients who received treatment had a 49% reduction in time to heal compared to those who had no treatment. The treatment group took an average time to heal of 2.2 days while the non-treatment group took 4.3 days.

The Effect of Low-Level Light Treatment on Oral Ulcers

Low-level laser light at 30-second exposures from a laser light pen was used in this clinical research study to investigate the healing rates of cold sores. Researchers found that light therapy increased the healing rates of cold sore ulcers in 69% of patients.

In addition to accelerating healing, light therapy reduced 88% of painful cold sore lesions within two days. This was up to five times faster than the untreated control group, which took five to ten days to experience pain relief.

Overall, this study concluded that treatment of cold sore lesions using low-level laser exposure in the form of light is an effective and affordable way to treat the herpes simplex virus.

These well-constructed clinical trials clearly demonstrate the efficacy of treating and preventing cold sore outbreaks with light therapy.

However, the light must be applied at both the proper wavelength and irradiance to achieve these results. That's exactly why Luminance RED was designed specifically to meet these specifications.

Thanks to Luminance RED, cold sores don't have to control your life. Prevent your next outbreak now!