Cold Sores Overview

Cold sores are painful, small and fluid filled blisters which are found on the lips, nose and mouth areas of the human body. These occur when the human body gets infected with HSV1 or herpes simplex virus1. These sores sometimes get very painful and can last for a few days. Cold sores can affect any person, irrespective of their age, gender and ethinic background. A study conducted in the years 1999-2003 showed that HSV1 was found to affect around 57.7% of the American population. The symptomatic episode of the disease is developed by more than 50 million people each year in America alone.

 

The blisters formed due to cold sores can be very painful. Difficulty in eating may arise which may lead to dehydration in the infected individual. Individuals infected with HSV1 might experience one to three attacks in a year. The number can go up to 12 recurrences in some cases. With the passage of time there is fall in their severity and intensity. The transfer of the HSV1 virus is through the sores and it is capable of making copies of its own on the skin areas of the infected individuals. This happens even when there are no blisters. The physical manifestation of the disease is in the form of blister, which occurs mostly in the lip area.

Herpes simplex virus is the main cause of cold sores. HSV occurs in two forms. These are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 mainly causes cold sores. The herpex simlpex virus is a kind of contagious oral virus. The virus can spread itself by body contact like kissing or normal skin contact and infected saliva. The main contagion occurs when the body has active blister like sores. After the blisters get dry and are crusted over, the risk of spread of the disease gets significantly reduced. The virus has not been found to spread itself through washcloths, towels and other contaminated surfaces.

 

The recurrence is associated with ultraviolet radiation, stress, flu, colds and fever, changes in the immune system, hormonal changes for example menstruation, skin traumas etc. The recurrences are found to occur on the same body areas (more or less). The recurrences can be occasional (occurring one or two time in a year or often (once every month). Prodome is one symptom of sore. It manifests itself before the actual sore appears. It is usually a tingling or burning sensation which can precede a blister by days or hours. The small blisters can combine themselves and form a giant blister. These can give mild pain.

 

When the disease recurs, the blister stage becomes short. The blisters dry themselves rapidly and leave behind scabs which can last from one day to many days. The first viral attack is accompanied with fever, bleeding gums and swollen glands. Many painful sores get formed around the nose and the mouth. They heal themselves completely during a period of two to six weeks. No scarring occurs in most cases.

 

Primary herpes virus attack occurs during childhood. You should contact a doctor if the attack is profound. The medications provided will help in shortening the length of the period of infection and the number of attacks that might occur. The infected person might experience difficulty in eating and drinking which may lead to dehydration and other ill health effects. This might also call for the doctor’s attention. Individuals who have undergone chemotherapy and have weak immune body systems will experience severe outbreak of old sores. Medical care can help resolve the complication that might occur.

 

The virus can also infect the brain. When this happens, the individual experiences confusion and fever. Antiviral medication is administered and the individual is hospitalized. Erythema nosodum occurs when the cold sores associate themselves with painful skin lumps that get formed on the front of legs. These are self limiting and recede in three to six weeks. There are tests available for deduction of cold sores. These include polymerase chain reaction and viral culture.

Washing hands often is necessary for people who have cold sores, especially when they touch their face. They should also not share their cups and eating utensils with other people. Cold compresses can be used to relieve the pain and provide instant relief. Over-the-counter medicine can be used for getting symptomatic relief but they do not decrease the healing time. Burning/itching sensation and pain can be relieved by topical anasthetics like lidocaine, benzo caine, tetracaine and dibucaine. Zilactin and Lipactin gel are some examples.

 

The lesion can be kept moist and its cracking avoided by products which contain petrolactum, allantoin and dimethicone. For relieving pain, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can be used. Abreva (containing docosanol) can decrease healing time of cold sores. It is applied to the infected areas five times a day. Side effects include itching at the site of application of the cream and appearance of rashes. Application of penciclovir (denavir 1% cream) or acyclovir (zorivax 5 % cream) will reduce the healing time by half a day. The FDA approved medications are acyclovir (zorivax), famciclovir (famvir) and valacyclovir (valtrex). These are given orally and reduce the duration of outbreak. Its side effects include diarrhea, nausea and headache.