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can a cold sore appear without oral contact or spreading?

(3 posts)

  1. Jibreel H
    Member

    ive never had a scaby sore on the edge of my mouth before. I assume its a cold sore, but strangely the people im around dont get it and ive never made any contact( kissing). It just appeared out of the blue. it looks the way cold sores are described but i havent made any contact to cause one. Ive never kissed anyone before nor drink off a cup after someone who had herpes. if this never occured before in my life, could it be herpes?

    Posted 2 years ago #

  2. curator
    Member

    Yes it could be. Most people get exposed to the herpes virus in infancy by the adults around them. That first episode of infection usually causes a fever and lot's of sores in the mouth. The virus then goes to live in a nerve root, often around the mouth. Later, often years later, the virus reactivates as a fever blister/cold sore. There may be no recent exposure. Things that suppress the immune system can cause a reactivation. Sun exposure, fevers, colds, stress and so on.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  3. zitdr_02
    Member

    This could still be herpes, as about 50% of the cases don't show any signs of becoming infected when first exposed. And, frequently, a parent or grandparent might have transferred the virus to you when you were an infant. So, assuming that "Grandma" kissed you when you were an infant, and you were one of the 50% who didn't show any signs of receiving the disease, it may lay dormant for many, many years before becoming reactivated. Several factors allow the virus to become reactivated, such as getting run down with another illness, sunlight, stress, friction, menstrual periods, fever. And, sometimes, the virus gets reactivated for no apparent reason. When the outbreak is over, the virus travels back inside the nervous system into the spinal cord, where it waits to be reactivated again, traveling down the same nerve pathway, and ending up on the same skin site. When you have an outbreak, you are obviously contagious to others.

    Posted 2 years ago #

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