Cold Sores

What are Cold Sores?

This can be described as a small fluid-filled blister than can be painful and it erupts around and in your oral cavity. They will normally appear in clusters and can be seen on your tongue, gums, cheeks, lips, and roof of your mouth. They can also spread to your cheek, nose, and chin. They are also referred to as oral herpes or fever blister. Although it is an inconvenience it is not a disease that is serious. It will generally last for several days and can recur.

Symptoms of Cold Sores

Normally when the virus enters your body it will break through the outer layer of the tissue of your skin but there are generally no symptoms at this stage. The virus will state in the nerve cell roots in a state of dormancy. The symptoms start to appear when they start to become active and multiply. What symptoms a person has will depend on what stage the cold sore is in. Sometimes when children get cold sores they may drool

First Stage

This is when the virus goes from the nerve root to the nerve surface. They symptoms at this stage are:

• Tenderness
• Pain
• Itching or tingling sensation in the nerve point that is affected
• Possibly having a fever, fatigue, headache, etc.

Second Stage

This is when you begin to see one or more red bumps on your skin and on top is a small blister that is watery. The symptoms at this stage are:

• Swelling in the area that surrounds the bumps
• Pain

Final Stage

After several days the blisters start to break apart and the fluid is released. One thing to remember at this stage is that the fluid is infectious. Once the blisters have ruptured yellow skins cover them up, which is a sign that they are healing. The skin will turn pink in color when the yellow skin breaks off in flakes.

Cold Sores Causes

The cause of cold sores is the herpes simplex virus (HSV) of which there is two varieties. The one that causes cold sores is the Type 1 herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). One thing to remember is that it is a very contagious disease and you can pass it to another person by physical contact. It can also spread to other areas of your body if you do not control it. Although these are not really a cause of cold sore it shows other ways that a person can get a cold sore.

Treatment

Most of the time cold sores will clear up within fourteen days without any type of treatment but there are different prescription medications called antiviral drugs that can help to speed up the process of healing. Some of these medications are:

• Zovirax
• Xerese
• Valtrex
• Famvir
• Denavir

Some of these medications are creams that you put on the sores while some of the others are in pill form. Usually it better to take the pills because they seem to work better than applying creams. If the infection is severe they can give you antiviral medication intravenously.

There is also an over-the-counter medication that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration that you can use on the cold sores. It can shorten how long the outbreak will last by a day or just a few hours. One thing to remember is that you have to put it on frequently. You can also try over-the-counter substances that have a drying agent to try and help speed up the healing process. One such substance would be alcohol.

To prevent them from spreading make sure that you do not touch them even if they are bothering you and always wash you hands when applying any treatments. You also need to make sure that you always keep the cold sores clean and dry.

Home Remedies

• To help ease the symptoms you can apply cold washcloths or ice on the blisters for ten to fifteen minutes.
• Take aloe Vera gel from leaves that are fresh and put it on your cold sores. It can help with the itching sensations. You should continue to put it on the cold sores even when the blisters are healed to help the tender skin heal.
• Take a damp cotton ball and put it in a bowl with baking soda and make sure that there is a thick coat on the cotton bal. Put the baking soda on the cold sores and let it dry. This will help your cold sore blisters to dry up quicker.
• You can add a teaspoon of licorice root to a cup of water, boiling it for ten minutes. You should drink this tea four or five times each day when your cold sores are at the first stage to help prevent the symptoms from getting worse. You can also apply the tea to the cold sores with a cotton ball for quicker healing.

Cold Sores Pictures

Photos, Images and Pictures of Cold Sores…