Cold Sores Pictures
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Cold sores, commonly known as fever blisters, are small lesions filled with fluid that occur around and/or on the lips. Often these blisters are clumped or grouped together and appear in a patch-like form. Cold sores will generally break open and leak out a clear fluid like substance that can spread the disease.
Cause
Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus, also known as HSV. Although there are two different types of the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) both can cause the sores that are around one’s mouth (herpes labialis). The herpes simplex virus most commonly enters through a cut or split in the skin that is in or around the mouth. It can be spread when one touches a cold sore (or the fluid); this is most commonly done by sharing or using someone’s eating utensils, touching an infected person’s saliva, sharing other personal items, and kissing an infected person. Cold sores can spread to other areas of the body and can even be spread to children from an infected parent.
Appearance
Cold sores, which can be often referred to as fever blisters, are a cluster of small blister-like sores around one’s mouth and/or on the lip. Generally unpleasant, in both appearance and discomfort, the skin that is around the blister(s) is often rather red, sore and swollen. The blisters can actually break open and leak a clear fluid-like liquid. After the liquid occurs the sore will scab over and eventually heal. The general healing time frame can range anywhere from two days all the way up to several weeks.
Generally cold sores do heal on their own, but if the pain associated with an outbreak or the discomfort of the appearance is becoming an inconvenience there are several different remedies and treatments that can alleviate symptoms and speed up the healing process. There are over the counter drugs as well as natural products to alleviate the condition.
Below are several photos that showcase cold sores and the appearance they display.
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