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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Cold sores — also called fever blisters — are fluid-filled lesions caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 infection.
If you've had a cold sore before, you may sense a new one coming by a telltale tingling on your lip. Sure enough, in a day or two, red blisters appear on your lip. It's another cold sore, probably happening at a bad time, and there's no way to hide it or make it go away quickly.
Cold sores are quite different from canker sores, another common condition people sometimes associate with cold sores. Though you can't cure or prevent cold sores, you can take steps to reduce their frequency and to limit the duration of an occurrence.
- Herpes simplex. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/viral_herpes_simplex.html. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
- Klien RS. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
- Klien RS. Treatment and prevention of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Herpes simplex. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/177412534-3/0/2088/299.html. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
- Oral-labial herpes simplex. In: Habif TP. Habif: Clinical Dermatology. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00021-3--s0380&uniq=177412534&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&sid=936136390#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00021-3--s0370%3Bfrom%3Dcontent%3Bisbn%3D978-0-7234-3541-9%3Btype%3DbookPage. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
- Klien RS. Epidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
- Gibson LE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 12, 2010.
- Benzocaine topical products: Sprays, gels and liquids — risk of methemoglobinemia. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm250264.htm. Accessed Apr. 8, 2011.
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