What is cold sore?

Question

What is cold sore?

Accepted Answer

The cold sore is caused by a virus of the Herpes simplex virus family, HSV1. It is a contagious disease, transmitted through direct contact with an infected person. The first infection often occurs in childhood and goes unnoticed. In some cases, this first infection can cause significant symptoms in the mouth (numerous and extensive canker sores, this is gingivostomatitis), accompanied by high fever and severe local pain. It heals spontaneously in about ten days. After the primary infection, HSV1 remains present in local nerve cells and various factors can reactivate it: stress, sun exposure, menstruation, trauma, surgery, treatment that suppresses the immune system, infection and, of course, fever - hence its name. It is estimated that 80% of French people harbor the HSV1 virus but only 20% experience outbreaks of cold sores. Genital herpes is a virus similar to cold sores but slightly different. It is rather rare for a cold sore to be the cause of genital herpes, and vice versa, but it can happen, hence the need to take precautions in case of an outbreak of cold sores.

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Tag: home remedies for cold sores

Cold sores : the causes of cold sore