Chapter 1: Clinical Overview
Cold sores are blister-like sore spots caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Approximately 90% of adults have been infected by the herpes simplex virus.
The first infection often does not cause any symptoms and people are unaware that they are infected.
About one-third of infected people experience cold sores which are a recurrence of the original infection, which may have been a long time ago.
There is no cure for herpes simplex infections and the virus remains in the body. The virus lies dormant in the nerves until awakened to cause a repeat cold sore episode.
This means that cold sores can recur for the rest of the infected person’s life.
Cold sores are contagious, meaning that they can be passed from one person to another through close physical contact.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) occurs in two forms with HSV-1 causing most cold sores and HSV-2 causing most cases of genital herpes.
