Once the sore has scabbed over, your chances of passing on the virus decrease significantly. A very common virus called herpes simplex virus type 1 HSV-1 causes cold sores.
After the first infection, the virus remains in the nerve cells forever. Triggers like exposure to sunlight, fatigue, stress or hormonal changes activate the virus, making a cold sore appear. Sores usually break out on or near the lips. The virus that causes cold sores spreads through skin-to-skin contact, which makes it highly contagious. Cold sores seem to be most infectious during the tingling stage just before they appear and while the sores are visible.
The virus can spread to other people through kissing or sharing utensils. Most infections are asymptomatic, but in some cases, the virus can cause painful blisters or ulcers at the infection site.
The problem is, it is very easy to spread the HSV-1 virus, even through indirect means like sharing some utensils, or carrying it on your hands after touching your cold sore.
Cold sores are contagious up until you do not see the scar at all, which usually means around 15 days or so. A good rule of thumb is that if the sore has disappeared completely and there are no visible signs of it, then you are likely not contagious anymore.
The best thing you can do with a cold sore is to be patient and apply your treatment consistently every 2 hours. Cold sores usually need around 15 days to disappear, but there can be certain variations on a case-by-case basis. There are certain strategies you can adopt to make way for a speedier recovery and reduce the risk of getting another cold sore in the future:.
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Once you've had an episode of herpes infection, the virus lies dormant in nerve cells in your skin and may emerge as another cold sore at the same place as before.
Recurrence may be triggered by:. Cold sores on the lips can be embarrassing and tough to hide. But, turns out, you might not have a reason to be embarrassed. Now, a very small percentage of those people will actually develop cold sores. Pritish Tosh, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic, says, genetics determines whether a person will develop cold sores.
The problem is people can spread the herpes virus whether they develop cold sores or not. Herpes virus spreads through physical contact like kissing, sharing a toothbrush — even sharing a drinking glass — or through sexual contact.
Almost everyone is at risk of cold sores. Most adults carry the virus that causes cold sores, even if they've never had symptoms. You're most at risk of complications from the virus if you have a weakened immune system from conditions and treatments such as:. In some people, the virus that causes cold sores can cause problems in other areas of the body, including:. Your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication for you to take on a regular basis if you develop cold sores more than nine times a year or if you're at high risk of serious complications.
If sunlight seems to trigger your recurrences, apply sunblock to the spot where the cold sore tends to erupt. Or talk with your doctor about using an oral antiviral drug as a preventive if you expect to be doing an activity that tends to trigger your condition, such as intense sunlight exposure. To help avoid spreading cold sores to other people or to other parts of your body, you might try some of the following precautions:.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Cold sore Open pop-up dialog box Close. Cold sore Cold sores, often called fever blisters, are clustered, small, fluid-filled blisters. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.
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