Cold sores are a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, mainly type 1. Usually, the first sign of this infection is during childhood and even if you don’t show any signs is likely you have; around 70% of the population has this condition.
The first outbreak can be asymptomatic or, on the other hand, can come with many different symptoms like fever, gum inflammation, adenopathies, and even pharyngitis.
After this first outbreak, the virus can stay in a latent form for a long time on your body and reappear when you least expect it.
How do I know when I will get cold sores?
Stress, fever, lack of sleep, extreme weather, immunosuppression, and hormonal imbalance can trigger breakouts, but it is not mandatory; you will suffer cold sores when going through these situations.
At the beginning of the breakout, you can will the area around your lips is tingly, itchiness, or even burning, and then you will notice small vesicles with a clear liquid that can easily break and leave a crust.
Will I get a scar from cold sores?
After you start seeing the blisters and crust, they will remain around two weeks and will slowly disappear, but they DON’T PRODUCE SCARRING.
What should I do If I get cold sores?
First of all, don’t manipulate the area and avoid any direct contact with another person, including sharing lipsticks, glasses, and towels.
There is no cure, but a few topics and oral treatments like Aciclovir can improve the symptoms and shorten the breakout course.
Also, don’t forget to wear a balm if your lip is too dry but make sure it has sunscreen on it and apply cold compresses and leave it on the area for some minutes if you have pain.
If you have suffered from breakouts in the past and plan to go for aesthetic treatments in the area, like botox or dermal fillers, you need to start taking your usual treatment a couple of days before you have the procedure done to avoid breakouts.
