Do you see some small blisters on your lips and around your mouth? If yes, you are the host of some viruses that cause cold sores. If you want to find out what cold sore is and the important facts related to it, follow along.

Cold sores, which are sometimes called fever blisters, are small blisters that develop on lips and around the mouth. The infected skin becomes swollen, red and sore. The blisters can break open, producing transparent fluid which will scab few days later. The healing process starts two days up to 2 weeks.

The virus that causes cold sores is herpes simplex virus which has two types: HSV-1 and HSV-2. This type of virus is also responsible for the development of genital herpes in some people.

The virus can get into the body when there is a break in the skin or inside the mouth. The fastest modes of transmissions are touching another persons cold sore and sharing utensils with, kissing and touching saliva of an infected person.

The first symptoms of cold sores include pain in the mouth or lips, fever, sore throat, and swollen glands at different parts of the body. Days after the blisters developed, they break open, release transparent liquid, scab after few days more, and disappear from the skin after the maximum period of two weeks.

cold sores are not difficult for the doctor to find out. The doctor will just ask few questions, after which, how the virus was acquired will be known already. Other than this, no diagnostic test shall be conducted.

Two weeks is the maximum time before the infected person gets healed. However, the disease brings with it uncomfortable symptoms which can be embarrassing and irritating. To eliminate these symptoms, an infected person can make use of treatments such as skin creams, ointments, and pills which can be bought at any drugstore. Taking these treatments can heal the disease two days faster than taking no treatment at all.

Despite the treatments for cold sores, the virus that causes it stays in the body forever. In other words, cold sores brought by herpes simplex virus cannot be completely healed. Treatments can only reduce the number of sores but cannot prevent the virus from developing more sores.

For this reason, it will be wise to take measures that can prevent the virus from getting into the body. To prevent cold sores, you should avoid coming in contact with infected persons by avoiding kissing, sharing utensils, and other items owned by the person. Most of all, boosting the immune system by taking in the most nutritious foods can effectively prevent the viruses from causing harm to the body.