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Cold sores in toddlers
My two-and-a-half year old daughter suffers from very painful outbreaks of cold sores - each attack consists or three or more sores - and there can be a little as two weeks between one outbreak clearing and another starting. She eats a balanced diet and I give her a vitamin supplement. However her general health is poor. She has frequent colds and ear infections and is waiting to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. What do you suggest?
Stress and sunlight are both major triggers for an attack of the herpes simplex virus responsible for cold sores. I always know when I am run down - that painful tingling starts and I recognise it as a sign to slow down.
The good news is that there is an excellent product which will boost your daughter’s immune response to stress and which you can give her every day to, hopefully, prevent the virus from erupting in the first place. If she does suffer an attack it should reduce the severity and the length of time it takes to clear the infection.
Elagen contains a standardised extract of eleutherococcus senticosus, an Asian plant which is related to ginseng and which bolsters the body’s natural defences. It comes in capsule form, is safe for children to take and you need to give your daughter half a capsule every day. Break the capsule in half and scatter the powder inside on her breakfast cereal or disguise it in a piece of cake. If you sometimes give her a slightly higher dose, don’t panic. She is not going to overdose.
Elagen also works for adults who suffer recurrent cold sore infections and many of those who try it, soon learn to never leave home without it. It costs £11.99 for 30 capsules or £19.90 for 60 and is available by mail order from Eladon in Bangor on 0845-345 1636.