I have a cold sore on my nose, and inside of the nostrils. Had this before? How do I get them and why?

Cold sores most often appear around the mouth but occasionally can occur either on the nose or inside the nostril as you have described. Cold sores come and go, but usually affect the same areas of skin. This is because the viruses causing the problem live in or around what we call sensory nerve tissue (nerves responsible for sensation) and when activated, travel down the nerve and onto the skin surface, giving rise to the visible sore you are familiar with. Each nerve supplies a specific part of the skin and this is why approximately the same area is affected with each outbreak. By the way, this also explains why cold sore symptoms include tingling and are more painful than you might expect.

To help resolve an outbreak, we would recommend the use of a lip care ointment containing propolis.

If the problem is particularly severe or persistent, you may wish to supplement this with echinacea which has been shown to have anti-viral properties against the cold sore viruses in the laboratory and is available as a cream, tincture or tablets.

The question of how one might prevent further recurrences or reduce their frequency often comes up. This is not always easy to achieve, but there are a number of steps you can take, including strengthening the immune system with echinacea and vitamin C, reducing stress and avoiding cold sore triggers.