Cold Sores Health Video

A tingling, a hard spot, or a red blister on your lip are all signs of a cold sore. Cold sores, also called fever blisters, are common. Though you can't cure or prevent cold sores, you can take steps to reduce their frequency and to limit the duration of an occurrence. Learn about the different cause, symptoms, and treatments of cold sores in this video.

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Contact a doctor for painful blisters
Contact a doctor for immune system problems
Be careful not to spread the disease

About this Author

Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.

SUSAN MCGLADERRY, BM, BCH, MRCP: Hello. My name is Dr. Sue McGladerry. I'm the medical director from the FirstMed Centers in Budapest, Hungary and I'd like to give you some information about cold sores. The other name for this condition is herpes labialis and it's caused by infection with the herpes simplex virus. It results in small usually painful blisters on the skin of the lips, the mouth and the gums. These blisters are also known as cold sores or fever blisters. It's a very common disease and most people are infected with Herpes simplex type 1 virus as children. After the first infection, the virus remains dormant in the nerve tissue of the face. In some people, it later reactivates and then produces recurrent cold sores in the same area where the original infection. Herpesvirus type 2 usually causes genital herpes, but it may also sometimes cause herpes labialis on the face. The herpesvirus is very contagious. They spread through direct contact or through contact with infected towels or dishes. The first symptoms of infection usually occur within one or two weeks, but sometimes it's late as three weeks after the contact. The infection may be mild causing no symptoms or minor just a few mouth ulcers, but in some cases it's much more severe including fever and many blisters. The blisters usually last for 7 to 10 days and then begin to resolve. In case of recurrence, the blistering is usually milder. It may be triggered by things like menstruation, sun exposure, illness with a fever or even just a result of stress. What about the diagnosis? This is usually just a clinical one based on the classical appearance of the blisters. But sometimes, it requires confirmation of the presence of virus in samples taken from the skin lesion. And how do we treat this condition? Untreated, the symptoms will usually subside in about one or two weeks. Topical antiviral medications are helpful to control minor recurrences and oral antiviral medications may shorten the course of the symptoms and decrease the pain in more severe infections. In this case, it's important that antiviral medications are started orally early in the course of the infection before any sore start to appear. The blisters need to be washed gently with soap and water to minimize the spread and then a secondary bacterial infection, and it's also important to take precautions to avoid infecting other people. When should you contact your doctor? You need to call your doctor if the symptoms are very severe, particularly in the first time around infection, or if there are blisters near or in the eye, or if you have problems with your immune system.