Herpes on lips

Herpes on lips

Herpes on lips is a very distressful condition forevery person, firstly because it is visible and it looks a bit ugly anddisgusting. Furthermore, herpes on lips is a very painful and many people withthis condition have difficulties while eating and swallowing. The medical term for herpes on lips is coldsores or oral herpes. This infection occurs because of the herpes simplex virus.Mouth, tongue and insides of the cheeks and gums can also be affected by thisvirus and can develop herpes. Infected saliva, skin or the mucous membranes spread herpes simplex virus in humans.

Herpes on lips is a condition that has two main causes and they are two viruses: herpes simplex virus 1 and herpes simplex virus 2. In themajority of cases, even in 80% of the cases with herpes in lips, this conditionwas caused by herpes simplex virus 1.

Symptoms of herpes on lips

In most cases, the first symptoms of cold soresappear two to ten days after the exposure to the virus. A burning sensation on the skin area is one of thefirst symptoms of oral herpes that the infected people may notice even beforethe herpes becomes visible. The burning sensation is followed by itching and afterthat, the herpes emerges and becomes noticeable. The sores that appear on thelips look like small ulcers with a red base, but after few days, the sores becomecrusty and dry.

In the case, when sores on lips spread to chin andthe neck area, the common symptom is the swelling of the lymph nodes in theneck. Because of that, the person has painful swallowing. Moreover, because ofthe swelling in the gums, the person with this condition has problem withchewing as well. Other symptoms of herpes on lips are fever, bodyache and tiredness. These symptoms last about three weeks and can even lastafter herpes on lips disappears.

Treatment of herpes on lips

The treatment of herpes on lips depends on the virusthat caused it. Because of that, the doctor must do biopsy of the sore in some cases. Generally, in order to alleviate pain and reduce the fever, the doctors prescribe certain medications that are very effective, such asibuprofen and acetaminophen. It is highly recommended to drink as much water andfluids as possible, because in most cases dehydration can be induced bythis condition. At home, applying ice packs or wet tea bags onthe sore is recommended in order to cure the herpes on lips.