August 08 2009
Cold Sores: Who Can Get Infected?
Tagged Under : cold sores, dental health, good grooming, oral care, oral health, oral hygiene, personal hygiene
Cold sores are seen as red small blisters often occurring on the upper lip of an infected individual and are directly caused by Herpes simplex virus type 1 infection. When infected, a person often feels much pain and agony on the blisters. At the early stage of the ailment, minute lumps appear that you can barely see by your naked eye. But in some cases, cold sores also appear on the person’s face, inside the mouth and even on or inside the nose. Basically, cold sores can be seen appearing on various body parts and even in the genital area. But in genital herpes, the HSV-2 or Herpes simplex virus type 2 is the main cause of the disease.
To date, there are already lots of persons who are infected with HSV-1. This is simply because Herpes simplex virus stays inside the body permanently without any cure. The virus is also widely spread as an infected person doesn’t always show its signs and symptoms such as the red blisters. If ever you already have one, it is more likely that you have acquired the virus during your childhood years. This may also be the case of most infected individuals as a child is most vulnerable from close contacts and getting kissed by an infected individual.
As the virus easily spreads its infection, HSV-1 then enters your system into the ganglion which is a group of nerve cells. It is in these cells that the virus takes refuge and sleeps indefinitely until the time it gets reactivated. There are also times that the virus just sleeps permanently inside the body of the person who has contracted the disease. This explains why there are some people who are infected with the virus who don’t necessarily have cold sores.
Reactivation of the virus that causes cold sores is still unclear and uncertain. But then, it is most likely that the virus reactivates upon various factors. And some of these factors are fever, sunlight, cold weather, hormonal changes, tooth extractions, certain foods and drugs, and other types of infections. In general, the cause of cold sores is unpredictable and the person doesn’t necessarily have to have colds to contract cold sore.
Cold sores spread so easily in various ways. If you happen to be infected with such virus, infecting other persons is easy and fast. Simply by skin to skin contact and oral secretions like kissing, HSV-1 is let loose. This is highly possible as the virus gets easily transmitted even if the infected person doesn’t show any sores. The virus also gets spread so easily through sharing a cup or eating utensils, or lip balm and lipstick with the infected individual.
Cold sores can also be the cause of genital herpes especially among couples by means of oral sex. The cold sore blister on an infected person can also get worse when he or she touches the blisters and then touches other parts of the body especially on parts where there is a cut on it.
Everyone is pretty vulnerable of contracting HSV-1 that causes cold sores. Any person is vulnerable from contracting the virus in various ways. Once infected, it is strongly advised not to touch, pinch, or squeeze the blisters. But when you do, it is advisable to avoid touching other parts of your body to refrain the virus from getting worse.
Related Posts
