How to prevent mouth sores?

Mouth sores

There are various types of mouth sores. The two most common that people can end up suffering from are fever blisters or cold sores and canker sores. A lot of people believe that they are the same condition but there are a lot of differences between the two. However, there are a lot of similarities as well.

What are fever blisters?

Fever blisters are also known as cold sores. Fever blisters are blisters that are filled with fluid and they most commonly occur on the lips or in the area around the mouth. In rare situations they occur in the throat or in the nose. People who suffered from fever blisters know that they cause a lot of pain when a person talks, eats or laughs. Cold sores usually last for a period of ten days but people need to know that they can speed the process of healing with some simple treatments.

The main cause of fever blisters is a certain virus called herpes simplex virus 1 or HSV-1. People need to know that once they are affected by the virus they will have it for the rest of their life because there is no cure for it. There are certain factors that cause the outbreak of fever blisters and some of the most common are stress, fever, trauma, hormonal changes and exposure to sunlight. It is also important to know that cold sores are highly contagious.

Treatment for fever blisters

The best way to treat fever blisters is to apply a protective barrier ointment on the blisters. The ointment should have an antiviral agent. People need to know that they can prevent suffering from fever blisters by following some tips. It is important that the blisters are not pinched or squeezed. Washing the hands regularly is essential and not drinking after or getting in contact with people who suffer from fever blisters will reduce the chance of getting infected.

What are canker sores?

Unlike cold sores, canker sores occur on the tongue, soft palate and inside the lips and cheeks. They are also small and either red or white shallow ulcers. According to the experts, they last up to ten days.Canker sores are pretty common and 80% of all people aged between ten and 20 years of age are affected by them. The data says that women are more prone to them than men. The causes of canker sores

Experts believe that canker sores occur due to a result from an altered local immune response which is connected with stress, trauma or irritation. It is important to know that unlike cold sores, canker sores are not contagious.