Cold Sores appear as small but painful fluid filled blisters on or around the lips and nose. They have been known to be aggressively inflamed by changes in temperature, hence their nick name “cold sores”. The root cause is in fact however not a reaction to cold but rather is caused by one of two highly contagious viruses: Herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 usually causes oral herpes, or cold sores. Type 2 usually causes genital herpes. Although both type 1 and type 2 viruses can infect oral tissues, more than 95 percent of recurrent fever blister outbreaks are caused by the type 1 virus. Cold sores are one of the most common disorders of the mouth and millions of people in North America are sufferers.

Cold sores are very contagious, and even more so when cold sore blisters are present. The virus is commonly spread by kissing, however sharing plates, glasses, bottles etc with someone who has a blister present is not recommended due to the contagious nature of the virus. It is estimated that a majority of people who are infected actually picked up the virus before turning ten years old.

The viruses’ route of attack is usually to invade moist membrane cell of the lip and throat. The initial infection rarely shows any outward signs of symptoms, but by day 2 to 5 many sufferers will see liquid filled blisters, this may even be accompanied by swollen neck glands. The blisters tend to grow rapidly, connect with any surrounding ones and then collapse, this results in a scar that crusts around the effected area, which should heal without leaving a scar over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately the herpes virus does not leave your body after you have been infected. The oral herpes remains in a nerve located near the cheekbone. It may remain permanently inactive, or may occasionally cause the reoccurrence of cold sores. These may occur at the edges of the mouth, the chin, the nose or even inside your mouth.