Article by BR Fiona
Cold sores are like the Bermuda Triangle of beauty; they appear and disappear mysteriously with what seems like no reason behind it, just another one of life's little mysteries (and annoyances), whilst it may feel like a mystery there is science and biology behind it.
Cold sores, also called fever blisters and Herpes Simplex Type 1, are in essence a cluster of small blisters around your mouth, or if you are unlucky enough on your lip. The cold sores themselves are caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1, not to be confused with the type 2 version which appears on another part of your….errr…..hmmm…..body. The virus normally enters your body either through a cut or break in your skin and even through the inside of your mouth. The virus then goes through a period of being active, aka blisters, to going into remission, which means that once you have the virus you have it for life though thankfully it will remain dormant most of the time. Since cold sores are a virus it does mean they are highly infectious so it's important that you avoid sharing food, eating utensils, kissing or doing anything that's going to mean touching another person's saliva. It's also important to note that cold sores can spread to other parts of the body such as your eyes.
Initially symptoms could present themselves as a pain in or around your lips or mouth, you may also experience a fever, swollen glands or a sore throat. You may experience no symptoms at all and just wake up with a not so nice surprise or if you're lucky you may get an itch or tingling feeling to give you a bit of warning. Once cold sores do arrive they can last anywhere for a few days to 3 weeks and can cause quite a bit of pain.
While cold sores generally heal on their own treatment is available in the form of skin creams, ointments or pills. Anti viral medications can help to reduce the severity of the symptoms and reduce the chance of it spreading, though unfortunately as of yet no miracle cure has yet to be invented which removes the virus forever. The best form of treatment is prevention, if someone around you has cold sores avoid them like the plague, and because it is a virus when your immune system gets low you're more susceptible to an outbreak so take care of yourself!
Making sure you are getting enough rest and exercise, whilst having a healthy diet is going to get your immune system robust and thus lessen the chances of you getting cold sores.
I've got one at the moment, not nice! It's the first one I've had in a very long time. Hopefully it goes quickly!