When To Seek Medical Care
If you develop new painful sores in or around the genitals, see a physician as soon as possible because treatment is much more effective if started early.Recurrent outbreaks of genital HSV usually do not require a visit to the doctor. However, because some people have milder forms of herpes, you should also see a doctor for any recurring rash in the genital area, even if you think it is from bug bites, jock itch, or any other condition.If you have an underlying medical condition such as cancer or HIV, if you have undergone organ transplantation, or if you are pregnant, you are at higher risk for more serious complications from genital herpes. Seek medical advice as soon as possible if you develop any lesions.Genital herpes can also be passed to a newborn baby during delivery through contact with a lesion in the mothers genital tract. Be sure to speak with your obstetrician about the possible risk to your baby if you have genital herpes.
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Symptoms In Men & Women
Its important to know that oral herpes doesnt always show symptoms. When it does, it usually appears as a cold sore, a group of small blisters around the lip or mouth often surrounded by red, swollen, and painful skin. You may experience tingling or burning on your lips or face before a cold sore appears. Other symptoms include sore throat, fever, swollen glands, and pain when swallowing.
The herpes virus goes through episodes of active outbreaks followed by periods without symptoms. If sores are present, thats when the virus is most contagious. However, oral herpes can still be spread when sores arent visible.
Complications Associated With Cold Sores
The initial contraction of herpes simplex can cause more severe symptoms and complications, as your body hasnt built up a defense to the virus yet. Complications are rare, but can occur, especially in young children. Call your doctor immediately if youre experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- high or persistent fever
- red, irritated eyes with or without discharge
Complications are more likely to occur in people who have eczema or a condition that weakens their immune system, such as cancer or AIDS. If you do have any of these conditions, contact your doctor if you think youve contracted the herpes simplex virus.
Theres no cure for cold sores, but some people with the herpes simplex virus rarely have outbreaks. When cold sores do develop, there are several ways to treat them.
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Is There A Way To Prevent Getting Herpes
You can protect yourself and your partner by taking steps to prevent an outbreak of herpes. Some things that you can do include:
-If you already have herpes, dont have sex until the outbreak is completely gone, even with a condom.
-Try to learn the signs of an impending outbreak, such as itching, tingling and burning, and stop having sex as soon as you notice.
-If you wear contact lenses, dont wet your lenses with your saliva. This could spread your herpes infection to your eyes.
-Dont have sex with your partner until your herpes sores are completely healed.
-Always tell your partner if you are infected with the herpes virus before you have sex. Even though it can be embarrassing and difficult, herpes is very common, and telling your partner will help keep the infection from spreading.
Is There A Cure Or Treatment For Herpes
There is no cure for herpes. Antiviral medications can, however, prevent or shorten outbreaks during the period of time the person takes the medication.11 In addition, daily suppressive therapy for herpes can reduce the likelihood of transmission to partners.11
There is currently no commercially available vaccine that is protective against genital herpes infection. Candidate vaccines are in clinical trials.
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What Is The Outcome For Someone Who Has Cold Sores
Cold sores cannot be cured. Some people get the virus and have just one outbreak. Others continue to get cold sores.
If you get cold sores several times a year, tell your dermatologist. A prescription antiviral medicine may help. Taking this medicine at the start of a cold-sore outbreak can shorten the amount of time you have cold sores. Some people who get cold sores frequently take this medicine every day. Taken daily, it can help prevent outbreaks of cold sores.
ReferenceFatahzadeh M and Schwartz RA. Human herpes simplex virus infections: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, symptomatology, diagnosis, and management. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007 57:737-63.
How Can I Prevent Herpes Outbreaks
If you have lots of herpes outbreaks, your doctor may tell you to take medicine every day this is called suppressive therapy. It can help prevent future herpes outbreaks, and lower your chances of giving herpes to your partners.
Whether or not you take medicine to treat herpes, taking care of yourself by eating healthy foods, getting enough sleep, and avoiding stress might help keep future outbreaks from popping up.
No one knows for sure what triggers genital herpes outbreaks. Other infections, surgery, sex, your period, skin irritations, and stress may cause outbreaks. Sunburns, injuries to your lips, or other infections can cause oral herpes flare-ups. Try to avoid getting sunburned if you have oral herpes.
Genital herpes outbreaks usually happen less often and become shorter and weaker after a few years whether or not you get treated.
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Herpes Simplex Virus Primary Infection
In children
Symptoms of the primary infection are most likely to develop in children younger than five years old. Symptoms include:
- swollen and irritated gums with small, painful sores in and around the mouth this is known as herpes simplex gingivostomatitis
Herpes simplex gingivostomatitis usually affects young children, but adults can also develop it. It can last 10 to 14 days, with the sores taking up to three weeks to heal. Gingivostomatitis doesn’t usually recur after the primary infection.
In adults
Primary herpes simplex viruses are rare in adults. But the symptoms are similar to those experienced by children.
Symptoms include:
- you’ll usually have a sore throat with or without swollen glands
- you may also have bad breath and painful sores in and around your mouth – these can develop into ulcers with grey or yellow centres
If you develop the herpes simplex virus at an early age, it may be triggered from time to time in later life. It can cause recurring bouts of cold sores.
After the primary infection, the symptoms are usually reduced to just the cold sores themselves.
Cold Sore Stages: What To Expect
Do you suffer from occasional cold sores? These sores are a nuisance, but knowing what to expect during an outbreak can help you cope. Here are the typical cold sore stages you can expect to experience.
1. Tingling
The first stage of a cold sore is the tingling stage. This stage occurs on day one of the cold sores. During this stage, you may notice a tingling, itching or burning sensation under your skin. This sensation is a warning sign that a cold sore will soon develop. According to the United Kingdoms National Health Service , when antiviral creams are applied at this time, the symptoms can be eased and healing time can be sped up. This is also the best time to receive cold sore laser treatment.
2. Blistering
On day two to three of the cold sore, the blister stage occurs. During this stage, small, fluid-filled blisters appear. These blisters can develop along the border between the lips and the skin of the face. They can also develop on the cheeks or around the nose, explains Mayo Clinic.
3. Weeping
On day four of the cold sore, the next stage occurs. The fluid-filled blisters that developed earlier burst. This leaves behind painful open sores, known as ulcers. Its important to note that this is typically the most contagious of the cold sore stages. Be careful to wash your hands after touching your cold sore.
4. Crusting
5. Healing
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Will You Experience Another Outbreak
When you stop an outbreak early or cycle through the 5 cold sore stages, you push HSV-1 back into dormancy. Unfortunately, there is no permanent cure for the virus. Even when an outbreak is over, the cold sore virus continues to lurk in your body, waiting for another opportunity to replicate and initiate a new outbreak.
Prevention is key, and that is why you need the Luminance RED to boost your cellular energy, combat the virus, and keep it dormant for as long as possible. For more information on how the Luminance RED prevents cold sore outbreaks and heals them fast, visit our FAQ or How it Works page.
If you feel a cold sore developing now and need the Luminance RED ASAP, select expedited shipping during checkout. Start your treatment soon and keep cold sores at bay order your Luminance RED treatment device now.
What Happens If I Dont Receive Treatment
Genital herpes can cause painful genital sores and can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems.
If you touch your sores or fluids from the sores, you may transfer herpes to another body part like your eyes. Do not touch the sores or fluids to avoid spreading herpes to another part of your body. If you do touch the sores or fluids, quickly wash your hands thoroughly to help avoid spreading the infection.
If you are pregnant, there can be problems for you and your unborn fetus, or newborn baby. See Im pregnant. How could genital herpes affect my baby? for information about this.
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Before We Begin: How Do Cold Sores Form
Individuals who contract HSV type 1 or HSV type 2 can suffer from cold sore outbreaks. While the virus usually remains dormant in the body, certain cold sore triggers can push the virus to replicate and cause an outbreak. Examples of triggers include:
- Emotional Stress
- Dental work or injuries to the skin
- Exposure to the sun, wind, or cold
Should these or any other triggers initiate the HSV replication process, you will begin to cycle through the 5 cold sore stages. Left untreated, you will likely experience each phase within an 7-14 day period however, early intervention with a proven treatment method can significantly accelerate the healing process. For treatment, we suggest the Luminance RED, which uses newly available technology to reduce the length of each stage and potentially eliminate certain phases all together. Lets walk through each of the cold sore stages and learn how the Luminance RED can help heal and prevent outbreaks.
What Are The Signs Of Herpes In Children
The herpes virus can be spread to babies and children if they are kissed by someone that is infected and has active cold sores. Although rare, it is also possible to spread herpes to a child or infant by touch if a person touches their cold sore and then touches the baby or child.
Precautions can be taken to protect infants and other children from getting the virus. Avoid kissing children if you have a cold sore and ask other people not to as well. Wash your hands frequently if you have a cold sore and you are around children.
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What Makes Herpes Recur
After infection, the virus enters the nerve cells and travels up the nerve until it comes to a place called a ganglion. There, it resides quietly in a stage that is referred to as dormant or latent. At times, the virus can become active and start replicating again and travel down the nerve to the skin, causing a cold sore outbreak. The exact mechanism behind this is not clear, but it is known that some conditions seem to trigger recurrences, including:
- weakening of the immune system and
- trauma to the involved area such as dental work.
Sometimes, however, there is no apparent cause of the recurrence.
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How To Prevent The Spread Of Oral Herpes
A cold sore is highly contagious and can spread to other parts of the body or to other people. Herpes transmission can occur through direct contact, such as kissing, or indirect contact from shared items, such as infected drinking glasses, towels, or utensils.
The herpes simplex virus type 1the virus responsible for cold sorescan be spread to the genitals of both men and women through oral sex. If this happens, it becomes a case of genital herpes.
Although the virus can be transmitted from person to person at any time, the most acute infection period is when the sores are visible. Once the sores have crusted over, oral herpes is no longer contagious.
Follow these tips to keep the infection from spreading:
- Wash your hands immediately after touching the sores or before touching another person.
- Abstain from intimate contact until the sores have dried and scabs have formed.
- Do not share utensils, drinking glasses, napkins or other items that may have been in contact with a cold sore.
- Do not touch, rub or scratch sores.
- Do not touch your genitals or eyes after touching a cold sore the cornea is extremely sensitive to infection from the herpes virus.
- Stay away from people for whom a herpes outbreak could have serious consequences .
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Cold Sores Fever Blisters
bacterial infections possible symptoms include redness around the blisters, pus in the blisters and fevercold sores that spread to the eyes, fingers or other parts of the body a cold sore in the eye causes a painful red eye. Immediate medical attention should be sought, as the herpes virus causes an ulcer on the cornea that can damage .
There are three main stages of oral herpes:
- Primary infection: This stage consists of the initial contraction of the virus.
- Latency: When the infection enters the latency phase, it is dormant and symptoms are absent.
- Recurrence: Following the primary infection and periods of latency, outbreaks can recur.
How Long Do Sores From Herpes Simplex Last
If youre infected with HSV-1, commonly known as oral herpes, you may notice tingling or burning around your mouth in the days before a cold sore appears. These blisters break open and ooze fluid before forming a crust. Usually, sores last for seven to 10 days.
If youre infected with HSV-2, commonly known as genital herpes, your first outbreak may last between two to four weeks. Recurrent outbreaks usually last between three to seven days.
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Are Cold Sores Contagious
Cold sores are contagious from the initial symptoms to the resolution. From Day 1-2, cold sore blisters are full of virus that spreads through saliva, skin-to-skin contact, or by touching an object handled by someone infected with the virus. You can spread the virus even when you do not have any apparent symptoms of a cold sore yet. However, this is much less likely than if contact occurred when a cold sore is present. The fluid in the blisters contain the virus, therefore cold sores are most contagious when the blisters ooze. The first cold sore episode will generally occur two to 20 days after being in contact with an infected person.
What Are The Symptoms Of Cold Sores
Cold sores start with an itchy and tingling sensation usually on the mouth, lips or nose and may form small blisters that crust after 3 days.
Cold sores usually clear up after 2 weeks without leaving any scars. They can be highly contagious, even when the blisters arent present. The virus can spread between people by direct physical contact, such as kissing, skin-to-skin contact and sharing drink containers, eating utensils, towels or toothbrushes with someone who already has a cold sore.
As well as a blister-like spot, the following symptoms are also common:
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How To Check If You Have Herpes
Many people mistake herpes symptoms for a skin rash or experience such a mild outbreak that they dont become aware theyre infected until subsequent outbreaks occur.
For more information, see our guide to Jock Itch vs. Herpes: Differences & Treatments.
Its also possible that you might experience no outbreaks at all after being infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2.
Luckily, there are several ways to check whether or not you have herpes.The best and most obvious way is to talk to your doctor about herpes testing. There are several herpes testing methods in use today, ranging from swab tests that check for viral activity to blood tests that check for the presence of IgG and/or IgM antibodies.
Each testing method has strengths and weaknesses, meaning your doctor will recommend the best option for your symptoms and potential infection type.
Most of the time, youll need to wait 12 to 16 weeks from the last possible exposure date before taking a herpes test. This gives your immune system time to produce a large enough amount of antibodies for an accurate test result.
Cold Sore Remedies: How To Treat Cold Sores
Wondering how to get rid of a cold sore fast? The best cold sore treatments include:
- Cold sore cream Betadine ointments can be dabbed onto a cold sore and may reduce cold sore symptoms.
- Cold sore lip balm A lip balm designed specifically for cold sores, or one that contains lysine, lemon balm or aloe vera, may be especially beneficial.
- Antiviral for cold sores Antiviral products containing docosanol or benzyl alcohol, such as acyclovir and famciclovir, can shorten the duration of a cold sore by reducing the virus ability to reproduce.
- Home remedies for cold sores Lemon tea, peppermint, mint, and witch hazel oil, aloe vera gel and liquorice root
Antiviral medicine for cold sores, such as creams and tablets, can help accelerate the healing process and decrease the severity of symptoms. For best results, start using the medicine when early symptoms such as tingling, itching or pain first appear. This will help your cold sore heal faster.
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