Cold Sore

Complete Step by Step Cold Sore Treatment to Help You Get Rid of Cold Sorecold sore treatment, cold sores

 

Cold Sore Treatment – Save Yourself From Cold Sore

Cold sore

Introduction

Cold sore or fever blisters are caused due to the oral infection of the herpes simplex virus and clinically, these symptoms usually appear on mouth or face. The oral herpes is a most common viral infection caused by Herpes simplex virus -1 (HSV-1) and when it affects the lip area, then the condition is medically termed as Herpes labial. Initially the infected area presents with tiny, hard papules resulting in skin outbreaks leading to the formation of sores or tiny blisters around the lips. The sores apparently heal within a period of 2–3 weeks as the herpes virus remains dormant for certain period of time until the virus gets reactivated. About more than 80 percent of the affected people in North America are reported to have herpes simplex virus-1 in a dormant form.

Causes

The cold sores are caused by a type 1 herpes simplex virus that remains in an inactive state within the sensory ganglia due to the an inbuilt powerful immune system in the body. Cold sores usually occur due to certain triggering factors like stress, menstruation, suppressed immune system, ill-health etc. In many cases, it usually occurs when the body’s immune function gets suppressed as it provides a favorable atmosphere for viral reactivation and multiplication that eventually spreads from neurons to the skin, preferably the mouth. This is followed by development of initial signs and symptoms such as itching, redness, inflammation and formation of blisters with fluid discharge.

Some of the common triggering factors of cold sores include fatigue, cold climate, fever, other infections, physical or mental stress, irritation of the mouth caused by a dental treatment, sunlight or sunburn.

Cold sore Stages

The initial symptom presented by cold sores includes tingling sensation, a best stage during which treatment is recommended.  This is followed by the immediate development of redness and swelling of an infected area. Tiny, hard papules develop which progress to small, red blisters that oozes out the contagious fluid leading to a cluster. This stage is highly contagious and an unaffected person can quickly buy the infection on direct contact with an infected person as the cold sore blisters contain highly infectious fluid rich in virus particles. The infected person spreads the infection on direct contact until the cold sores become crusted and when fluid discharge stops. This is followed by bursting stage where the cold sore starts to burst leading to a shallow ulcer which can often be painful. Later, the scar dries and forms a scab resulting in a crust which causes an unsightly appearance. Finally, the cold sore starts to heal apparently without forming a permanent scar.

Treatment

Cold sores usually resolve on their own after few weeks and are associated with pain. The treatment includes topical application of skin ointments, creams and lotions to reduce pain and sooth the skin.  Certain anti-viral drugs are prescribed in case of severe cold sores and the treatment hastens the healing period of cold sores within 1 or 2 days. Additionally, the therapy can alleviate the symptoms associated with cold sore.

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Another Source of Information

What are cold sores?

Cold sores, sometimes called fever blisters, are groups of small blisters on the lip and around the mouth. The skin around the blisters is often red, swollen, and sore. The blisters may break open, leak a clear fluid, and then scab over after a few days. They usually heal in several days to 2 weeks.

What causes cold sores?

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two types of herpes simplex virus: HSV-1 and HSV-2. Both virus types can cause sores around the mouth (herpes labialis) and on the genitals (genital herpes).

The herpes simplex virus usually enters the body through a break in the skin around or inside the mouth. It is usually spread when a person touches a cold sore or touches infected fluid-such as from sharing eating utensils or razors, kissing an infected person, or touching that person’s saliva. A parent who has a cold sore often spreads the infection to his or her child in this way. Cold sores can also be spread to other areas of the body.

Article source: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/cold-sores-topic-overview

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Cold sore symptoms

Cold sores occur due to viral infection caused by Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and these sores affect the lips and corners of the mouth. It is characterized by the formation of blisters that easily break open; produce a lucid fluid and later become crusted. The symptoms associated with cold sores usually subside after several days or weeks.

Usually the infections caused by the Herpes virus do not present with any apparent symptom. Normally, the symptoms occur for few days and generally resolve after two weeks. The oral infection caused by herpes initially presents with a mucosal inflammation of gums and cheeks which is medically termed as an acute herpetic gingivo stomatitis. The inflammation usually occurs during the first week of infection. Other symptoms include nausea, sore throat, headache, dizziness, fatigue, fever and painful ulcers.

In young adults, the primary infection caused by herpes simplex virus presents with severe pharyngitis, swallowing difficulty, swelling of the lymph nodes, cheek and gum lesions. The symptoms caused by HSV-1 are recurrent and and characteristically progresses in eight different phases:

Initial stage: This phase is called remission period and the virus migrates to a sensory ganglion where it remains latent and the affected person presents no clinical symptoms.

Prodromal stage: During this stage, the patient presents with skin itching associated with redness around the affected area. During this stage, therapy is recommended to avoid the recurrence of infection.

Inflammatory stage: During this stage, the virus multiplies and spreads infection causing severe swelling and redness.

Primary sore: The affected skin presents with hard, tiny papules and vesicles that get inflamed. Additionally, these papules are associated with itching and severe pain. The vesicles progress to fluid-filled blisters resulting in a cluster formation on the skin of the lip, chin, cheeks or nose.

Open lesion: The lesion causes severe pain and is highly infective during this stage. The tiny vesicles break down and join with the closer vesicles resulting in a wide extensive ulcer. The lesion discharges watery fluid that is concentrated with contagious, viral particles. This stage may be characterized with lymph node swelling and fever.

Crusting period: The crust forms from a serum exudate and the process of healing is initiated. The cold sore presents with pain on movement of an affected area of the skin and the viral fluid gets discharged through the cracks of a lesion.

Healing stage: Formation of new skin occurs from below the scab as the virus becomes latent. The affected area round the lesion presents with pain, itching and mild irritation. The scab formation over the sore occurs in series which is clinically termed as a Meier Complex. This is followed by a viral shedding stage associated with skin redness but the new skin cells replace the older cells. Thus the cold sores resolve on their own and the treatment can effectively reduce the severity of the cold sores by alleviating pain and its associated viral symptoms. Rarely, HSV affects the internal soft tissues of the mouth like gums, hard palate, and tongue.

Most people occasionally get a cold sore (also known as Herpes Simplex Type 1), it is nothing unusual, but for some cold sores can be a real and constant problem. On average I used to get at least 2 outbreaks per month, anyone who has ever suffered from this condition knows how painful it can be. Sure creams and ointments do help, but they are just treating the symptoms instead of providing a permanent relief from cold sores.