Herpes Simplex
Herpes Simplex A forty year old, Hispanic female, came into my office last week with open sores and blisters on her lips and inside of her mouth. Patient said that her boyfriend has the same sores and blisters on his mouth and she may have exposed herself to his open sores. I took a culture of one of the sores that was open. The results showed that she had the herpes simplex virus, type one, known as fever blisters. I informed her that the virus usually invade the moist membrane cells of the lips, throat, or mouth. The blisters tend to combine and then disintegrate. Usually a yellowish crust will cover the sores, which should heal without scarring within two weeks. However the virus does not leave the body once you have been infected with oral herpes, it remains in a nerve positioned near the cheekbone. The patient then asked what causes an out break to return. I told her that emotional stress, fever, illness, injury, or prolonged exposure to sunlight, weaken her body’s defense against an outbreak. She then asked what she can do to prevent the recurrence of the fever blister. I told her to keep them clean and dry, eat a soft diet to avoid irritating the sores.