A recent study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases suggests that your genes may be yet another factor that affects your susceptibility to outbreaks if you're infected by the herpes virus. Most people who are living with herpes never know that they are infected. Why then, is it that some people have such frequent outbreaks? There are many environmental factors, such as sun exposure and stress, that affect the likelihood of having an outbreak, but it looks like genetic factors may play a role as well. Scientists at the University of Utah have located a group of genes that seem to greatly affect a person's chance of having frequent cold sores.

• Genital Herpes
• Living with Herpes
• Cold Sore, Canker, or Chancre?