Stress is a significant contributor to herpes outbreaks, and understanding its role is essential in achieving and maintaining remission of the virus. Why? Because stress triggers inflammation, which wakes the Herpes Simplex Virus from its dormant state. It shuts down your digestive tract until the stress passes. If a vicious dog were chasing you, your body would need energy to run like hell, pulling energy away from less essential functions until the danger passes. But this can happen when you're in a state of chronic stress, which is easy to be in these days. What does this have to do with herpes, and why is this so detrimental to your health? Because your immune system is mostly in your gut. No optimal digestion. No optimal immunity.
Stress triggers emotions, which trigger chemical reactions in the body. These chemical reactions affect your hormonal balance. Some of these chemicals are hormones themselves. For example, cortisol is a natural steroid hormone released during stressful events. Cortisol affects nearly every organ and tissue in your body. It regulates metabolism, controls blood sugar levels, aids memory, influences the sleep-wake cycle, and helps regulate salt, water, and blood pressure. However, when stress is ongoing, cortisol breaks down the gastrointestinal, immune, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems, which can lead to more frequent and severe herpes infections (and other viral infections, such as colds, flu, and COVID-19).
Stress also promotes the loss of minerals that generally manage the body's acid load. When minerals are unavailable to neutralize acids in the body, the pH balance becomes imbalanced. Different parts of the body have specific acid requirements. When you have a pH imbalance, you have either too much acid (acidosis) or not enough acid (alkalosis). pH imbalance makes it impossible to keep herpes in remission. Why? Because when you're acidic, you're toxic. Toxicity causes inflammation, which in turn triggers herpes outbreaks. Some believe the body's pH is always in balance and can maintain a stable pH regardless of the challenges it faces. Even if this were to be accurate, the toxicity of any kind leads to inflammation, which triggers herpes outbreaks. Why? Because stress causes inflammation.
Note: It's essential to understand that blood, tissues, and organs in the body have various pH requirements. This is why a blood test may reveal normal pH, while a urine test can simultaneously show abnormally acidic levels.
When you live with herpes, it's essential to understand that "everyday" stress isn't an HSV trigger. There's no need to worry that you will never be able to have a single emotion without breaking out in a rash of blisters, even though it may seem that way at times. It's not going to work every day to pick kids up from practice and have to buy milk in the middle of the night, which triggers an outbreak. No. You have to worry about traumatic or ongoing stress because these trigger emotions long after the situation has come and gone.
Add comment
Comments