Herpes in the mouth

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Herpes around the mouth is caused by a very common virus, which can cause mouth ulcers. You can even have the virus in your body without getting any cold sores. Avoid kissing, kissing or having mouth sex when you or someone else has a mouth ulcer with blisters.

Mouth ulcers can be transmitted so you get herpes in the genital area.

Symptoms herpes in the mouth

The most common symptom of herpes is that you get cold sores on the lips or around the mouth.

Then can the skin

  • scratch
  • become red and swollen
  • hurt and feel sore
  • feels pungent and pulsating.

After a few days, small fluid-filled vesicles are formed, which often sit in groups.

The infection is often most troublesome the first time

When you get herpes for the first time, the symptoms can be very different. Some people do not notice any symptoms at all. Others get besides blisters or painful sores around the mouth as well

  • high fever
  • sore throat
  • swollen lymph nodes.

The first time you get herpes, it is common for you to have a fever for a few days. It may also take up to three weeks for the symptoms to disappear.

Munherpes usually does not give any scars.

Most are children when they get herpes. Children especially get swollen, red and light bleeding gums and blisters on the tongue. They may also have a fever and swollen lymph nodes.

Teens can sometimes have symptoms reminiscent of throat flux when they get herpes. Some do not get any blisters at all.

Herpes can get into the eye and cause inflammation of the cornea. Then the eye hurts, becomes red and tears.

The inconvenience is less severe in relapse

About one in three infected by the virus gets herpes on repeated occasions. If you have herpes again, an irritating and pulsating sensation in the lips or skin around the mouth is a common first symptom.

In relapses, the wounds often heal within a week.

You can have herpes even without getting symptoms like cold sores.

When should I seek care?

Seek care at a health center if

  • you have herpes symptoms and feel very ill
  • Mouth ulcers become permanent
  • the cold sores have not healed after two weeks.

Seek care at a health care center if an eye hurts, turns red and tears.

Contact a midwife if you have herpes for the first time when you are pregnant.

If a newborn baby who is up to six weeks old has blisters around your mouth, seek medical attention immediately.

You can seek care at any healthcare center you want throughout the country. You also have the opportunity to have a regular doctor’s contact at the health center. 

So, herpes is transmitted around the mouth

Munherpes is caused by a very common virus, also called herpes simplex. It infects when the skin or mucous membranes come into direct contact with the secretion of a herpes bladder. Herpes is mainly infected by kissing and kissing.

Most are already infected as children. It usually takes between a couple of days and a few weeks from you become infected until you get the first symptoms.

If you get back herpes problems, you are the most contagious for the first 24 hours. When the blisters have started to dry after a few days and a scab has formed, you are less likely to become infected.

You can have a herpes infection without having any symptoms. Then you can still be contagious, without knowing it.

Two types of herpes virus

There are two types of viruses. Type 1 used to cause almost only blisters around the mouth. Today, type 1 is a common cause of herpes in the genital area as well. Type 2 mainly causes herpes in the genital area.

Herpes can also infect other parts of the body, such as the eyes.

Recurrent problems with herpes

The herpes virus stays in your body after you get sick the first time, even when the symptoms have gone away.

About a third have recurrent problems with outbreaks. The new outbreaks may come if you have an infection in the body, such as a cold. The trouble can sometimes come back if you are stressed, in connection with sunbathing or during menstruation. Sometimes the trouble comes without a clear cause.

If you are already infected, herpes will not return because you come in contact with another person’s ulcer, for example by kissing someone who has an ongoing herpes outbreak.

The older you get the more rarely the outbreaks tend to come.

How can I prevent herpes around the mouth?

To prevent the spread of the herpes virus, you should, above all, avoid being kissed and kissed if you or the other person has herpes symptoms.

Some get herpes outbreaks from being in the sun. You can use a screencap, sunscreen or sunscreen to protect your skin and lips.

Wash your hands frequently and preferably use hand spirit to prevent the virus from spreading, for example, handshakes.

Reduce the risk of herpes spread at sex

You can reduce the risk of herpes infections at sex by using, for example, a condom or a lick. It does not provide safe protection but protects only those parts of the body that are covered by the condom or the lick. If the herpes virus is outside that area, the infection can still be transmitted.

What can I do for myself?

Avoid popping on the blisters and wound crusts, as they can become infected and the healing will take longer. Also, avoid wearing makeup, regular skin creams or regular patches on the wounds. The wounds heal best if kept as dry as possible.

Prescription-free antivirus creams and cold sores can relieve the symptoms

There are antivirus creams and special patches that you can use on the mouth ulcers. They can be purchased without a prescription at a pharmacy. The creams and cold sores have some effect. They can relieve the pain and make the bladder heal faster. They work best if you start using them already when you start to feel the stinging feeling that a cold sore is coming. The creams can be used from the age of twelve.

Treatment of herpes in the mouth

Herpes usually goes away on their own within a week and usually require no treatment.

There is also no treatment to remove the virus, but the symptoms can be relieved.

Antiviral drugs

If you have severe problems with herpes rash or are susceptible to infection, you may receive antiviral drugs on prescription. The same applies if you have eczemas, such as flexural eczema or contact eczema. The skin is then more susceptible to infection and this makes the herpes rash spread more easily.

Antiviral drugs are available both as tablets and ointments. It does not remove the virus, but relieves the symptoms, prevents the spread and makes the infection heal faster.

If you have severe problems with recurring outbreaks, a doctor may prescribe tablets so that you have them at home. Treatment should be started already during the first few days when the symptoms come to have a good effect.

Surveys

Usually, it is enough for the doctor to look at the mouth ulcer and to describe your symptoms to establish that you have had a herpes infection.

The doctor may also take a sample of fluid from a bladder to see if it contains viruses. This is done with the help of a cotton swab.

In some cases, you may also have a blood test. This applies, among other things, if you are pregnant.

Complications

Avoid touching the wounds if you have a herpes outbreak. Then it takes longer for the wounds to heal.

The skin may become infected

In addition to taking longer to heal the wounds if you poke them, bacteria can get into the skin and cause a skin infection. Then the skin becomes swollen and the wounds can become permanent. In some cases, such a skin infection needs to be treated with antibiotics.

Herpes can spread in the body

In very rare cases, herpes can spread in the body and cause meningitis or in brain inflammation. It is mainly if you have a severely impaired immune system due to a serious illness that can happen.

Pregnancy and herpes around the mouth

Contact a midwife if you have herpes for the first time when you are pregnant.

Newborn babies and herpes

If you have herpes around your mouth for the first time in conjunction with or shortly after birth, you may be given antiviral medication, to reduce the risk of the baby becoming infected. A newborn baby can have a severe and troublesome herpes infection. It is uncommon for newborn babies to get herpes, but if this happens, the child is treated with antiviral drugs.

Wash your hands frequently

Also, wash your hands frequently to avoid infecting your baby if you have a cold sore. Do not kiss the child and avoid contact with the mouth.

If you are pregnant have had herpes before

If you have had herpes before and have new outbreaks during pregnancy, antibodies are transferred to the baby in the stomach. Then there is no increased risk of the child getting sick. Still, follow the same advice. Wash your hands frequently and avoid the child coming into contact with the cold sores.

Read more about herpes in the abdomen during pregnancy.

Other types of blisters in the mouth

Blisters in the mouth do not always depend on herpes.

If you have small blisters and ulcers in your mouth that often come back, it may be something called after or blunt ulcer. The wounds are often yellowish and can hurt just like herpes rash. They do not infect and heal themselves.

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