Shingles and chicken pox also in the herpes virus family. Not that it's herpes... it's just like with the fever blisters/cold sores. They're a herpes virus, and the virus travels in the nervous system when it breaks out.

I get the cold sores, and have for about the past 18 years. I take L-Lysine, which is an amino acid, and you can buy them at any pharmacy or grocery store if they have vitamins and such.

Try to stress less. Emotional, physical, psychological.

Try to not get too much sun. Sunburn or too much sun can cause a break out.

Eat less acidic food or spicy hot foods. Again, they can stress the body.

You can also eat more foods that have L-Lysine in them. I remember chicken was a good source. I haven't done a search lately about that, because I haven't had an outbreak recently (knocking on wood now, lol).