What is a Cold Sore?

Most everyone is familiar with cold sores. If you haven’t had one yourself, you probably know someone who has had one or you have at least seen someone with one. These usually heal in several days to a couple weeks. In some cases, healing takes longer. However, while they are present, they can be very unattractive and sometimes painful. In more severe cases, the blisters may bust open and leak fluid before scabbing over.

When we ask, what is a cold sore? We are not asking for the simple physical description. Most anyone can identify one, but what else is there to know about these displeasing outbreaks?

A not so commonly known fact is that the “bumps” are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two forms of the herpes simplex virus and they are simply named herpes simplex virus-1 and herpes simplex virus-2. Either herpes simplex virus-1 or herpes simplex virs-2 is capable of causing bumps around the lips and mouth. Both of these forms are also capable of causing genital herpes.

Usually, the herpes simplex virus invades the body through a cut or scratch in the skin. It can also enter the body through the mouth. While this condition normally appears on the lips or around the mouth, it can develop on other parts of the body.

Yes, there are many proclaimed cures and many remedies that do indeed seem to have positive effects in limiting outbreaks and decreasing the amount of time an outbreak lasts. However, there is no medically or scientifically accepted cure.

So in a nutshell, that’s the good and bad news about this symptom of the herpes virus. There is no cure yet, but there are remedies that can offer relief until science finds or discovers in nature the silver bullet for HSV-1 and HSV-2.