Herpes is a viral infection triggeredby the eponymous virus. It can affect either the area around theface, including the nose, the mouth, chin and cheeks etc., or appearin the genital area, being a much more serious health condition.
However, there are many other forms ofherpes too. In fact, a vast majority of people contract herpes duringtheir childhood and the virus, after its initial outbreak, remainsdormant inside our organism, waiting for suitable moments to becomeactive again.
Oral Herpes Outbreak
Note that herpes is not always properlydiagnosed, especially by people who suffer from it. Rather, manyindividuals mistake their strange skin growths for something else,other that herpes. On the other hand, some people may believe thattheir regular and harmless rashes, pimples or some other conditionsof this type are herpes, even when they are not.
As far as the oral herpes variant isconcerned, it involves the lips, the gums and the mouth area,appearing in the form of an inflammation. It is an infectiontriggered by the herpes simplex type 1 virus, which initially resultsin fever and some common cold-like symptoms. Later on, when the realsymptoms start appearing, the affected person may experience aflare-up, even when the infection is, in fact, not yet visible. Thearea where the herpes outbreak will appear may seem itchy or painful,burning and leading to a sensation of discomfort. Later on, however,this unpleasantness evolves into a formation of small blisters,called fever blisters, appearing close to one another, forming agreater blister together. Once this blister bursts, the next stage,cold sores, appear. This stands for a formation of a lesion whichproduces discharge, forming a crust which allows one to become freefrom the virus once again. However, this stage is known to be verypainful.
Keep in mind that about 90% of allpeople are bound to experience oral herpes outbreak at least once intheir lives. Moreover, some children who get infected by herpes forthe first time may find it incredibly hard to battle this condition,becoming seriously ill. Fortunately, most individuals, after beinginitially exposed to herpes, develop adequate antibodies, preventingany future outbreaks. Unfortunately, in the US, about 40% of peopleare not so lucky and they experience repeated herpes outbreaksthroughout their lives.
Herpes is a highly contagious virus andpeople can get it from getting in contact with anything that got incontact with the cold sore of some other individuals. Thus, kissingan infected person, sharing utensils or personal hygiene items withhim/her, both are some of the main ways through which people getinfected with herpes. Subsequently, people who do not have any of theabove mentioned problems should not spend time near people who areexperiencing herpes outbreaks. Also, those who are affected by herpesin this way should be careful and do their best not to transfer theirinfection onto someone else through kissing or other forms of directand indirect physical contact.
Keep in mind that the cold sore youhave should not be touched, especially with dirty hands. Therefore,keep your hands clean and your levels of overall hygiene high.
How Does Herpes Look Like?
Due to the fact that this condition canbe mistaken for many others, it is best to explain some of the mostbasic rules of the thumb, related to herpes and herpes only. First ofall, herpes appears active during an outbreak and stays that way onlyfor a limited period of time after which it returns inside the bodyand becomes passive once more. When this happens, the symptoms of aherpes outbreak disappear as well.
Basically, depending on each affectedindividual, the herpes outbreak can last for up to six weeks. Yet, inmost cases, people get rid of this condition in about 14 days, inmost cases. So, if you cannot manage to free yourself from herpesuntil the 12th day of the outbreak, seek medicalassistance since the condition you are suffering from may easily besomething else.
Also, keep in mind that herpes resultsin a cold sore outbreak only sometimes. On the other hand, somepeople experience no symptoms whatsoever.
Therefore, when in doubt, the bestpossible step to take regarding your condition is to seek medicalassistance from your doctor. After examining you, he/she will eitherrule out or diagnose herpes, depending on a wide array of symptomsyou are or are not expressing.
All in all, there are no secret curesfor oral herpes and, in most cases, this condition comes and goes,taking into consideration that it stays inside our organism forever.However, once you seek medical assistance for helping you dealingwith your herpes outbreak, you may be given certain medications whichspeed up the healing process. In fact, you should react in such a wayas soon as you notice the first signs of this viral infection, beingburning, redness and discomfort affecting a spot on your face, inyour mouth or on your lips.
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