People who suffer from recurrent cold sores may be experiencing food allergies, according to the Academy of General Dentistry.
"About 10 percent of all cold sores could be caused by an allergy to food," says Dr. Michael Goldstein, spokesman for the academy.Goldstein says researchers at the Glasgow Dental Hospital and School in Scotland conducted patch-testing for food allergies on 21 patients with repeated cold sores, and 20 of the patients exhibited allergic reactions.
Eleven reacted to benzoic acid, a common food preservative. They were asked to avoid the substance. When they were checked three years later, 10 reported great improvement.
"Cold sores can also be caused by too much stress, a deficiency of the iron protein complex ferritin, or a lack of vitamins such as B12, folic acid, B1 or B6," Goldstein adds.