Herpes Simplex 1
One of eight different herpes viruses, herpes simplex 1 is also known as oral herpes and most commonly causes cold sores on the mouth or face. The sores or blisters usually appear on the lips but can also appear between the upper lip and the nose, on the inside of the nose or on the cheeks or chin. These kind of outbreaks are often called oral-facial herpes. It is estimated that 50% to 80% of adults in the U.S. has oral herpes and that by the time people reach the age of 50, the number goes up to 90%. Many people who have this strain of herpes have no symptoms.
The only way to get herpes simplex 1 is by direct contact between the sores and broken skin on the mouth or genital area. The virus can be transmitted to another person even if there are no symptoms at the time of contact. The best thing to do to prevent transmittal is to abstain from oral sex when sores are present. A condom or dental dam can be used to lessen the risk of acquiring genital herpes even if there are no visible symptoms. It possible for someone to contract oral herpes by having oral sex with someone with genital herpes but instances of this are rare. Most genital herpes cases from other people with genital herpes.
Herpes is a hard disease to control because once the virus enters the body it never leaves. When you first contract herpes simplex 1, you may develop the cold sores around the mouth and face as noted above, however, then the virus continues to duplicate itself in your cells and goes into hiding. By traveling along nerve routes to avoid the human immune system, it settles in a cluster at the top of spine. There the virus just stays and sleeps forever until it is reactivated. The problem is, there is absolutely no way of knowing when it will become active again, and it can become active and be contagious without a person having any symptoms at all. This state has several names, including asymptomatic shedding, sub clinical shedding, or asymptomatic reactivation.
Once herpes is in your body, it never leaves and you can continue to have outbreaks with symptoms or without symptoms for as long as you live. Many people have their first outbreak in their teens or younger, and most people have seen someone with a cold sore on their lip. They look like a blister, filled with fluid, and there can be one or several. Some you can’t see might form in the mouth, the throat, or in the neck lymph nodes. Many time symptoms are so mild that you might think it to be a pimple or a bug bite.
Twenty-five percent of the people with herpes simplex 1 will have recurring episodes.
After the blister starts to heal, it will get crusty and flake off. All of this lasts in the range 8-10 days. Many things are thought to cause these subsequent outbreaks, such as stress or even exposure to the sun. People often have a prior warning which is called a prodrome, where they might experience numbness, pain or tingling sensations on the spot where the sore will develop.
Some of the drugs used to treat genital herpes are also prescribed for herpes simplex 1 as well. These can include acyclovir, valacyclovir, and acyclovir. Prescribed topical medications can be put on the sore to heal it--these are usually acyclovir ointment or penciclovir cream. No over-the-counter medicine or topical treatment is recommended for the treatment of herpes simplex 1. Neither are any of the natural or homemade products you can find on the internet. In fact, many of these can actually worsen symptoms and delay healing. There is one drug readily available called Abreva, which is OTC FDA-approved and has been shown to help the sores to heal faster.