Why won't my "cold sore" go away?
Question:
It won't go away, and some times it's really bad, other times it's not so bad. It used to be on one side of my mouth, and now it's on both. I don't know what to do to get it to go away. I don't think it's a cold sore though, because cold sores generally go away after about a week. It is red and irritated just like a cold sore. WHAT DO I DO?! Could it be a food allergy?
Answers:
Cold sores are caused by the human herpes virus type 1, or HSV-1. This virus commonly infects the skin of the lip & perioral area. It usually presents with small little blisters that will eventually burst and ulcerate, leading to a small ulcer that heals in about 1 week and leaves no scar. If commonly recurrent, individuals can opt to receive prophylactic anti-virlas such as acyclovir, which will prevent or shorten the length of episodes. There is no cure for HSV and it can be recurrent because it will hide within the nervous system, in the trigeminal ganglion, and reactivate during periods of stress.
In your case, the fact that you've had a sore for that long may be due to different possibilities. The lesions may actually have been caused by HPV but you are not allowing them to fully heal; it's important not to interfere with the healing process because you can significantly delay this and potentially lead to scarring. It's best to leave it alone.
In spite of such efforts, lesions may last for a while because this is perhaps not HSV. Alternatively, this may be a bit of a bacterial infection; but which I'd think would be unlikely if no findings of pus, redness,swelling, etc are present. One bad scenario is the presence of HIV; AIDs patients are known to have HSV lesions continuously for years without healing. Clearly you need the opinion of a dermatologist; this is what they are best at; it should take them 2 mins to diagnose. Best of luck, but don't worry.
You need to go see your doc to find out what it is. SInce it doesn't go away it is not a cold sore. Go see the doc and get it diagnosed
some "cold sores" that dont go away are often confused with an advanced form of herpes. immediate attention is required.
It could be a wart, warts do get bigger sometimes. You shouldn't put anything on it though until you know for sure what it is. Go to the doc and get it looked at.
My guesses are 60% Ulcer, 25% Herpes, 15% Diabetes.
We see a lot of inmates come in with weird stuff like that. I always tell intake the same thing; "let the doctor look at it."
Visit the source below for some information on cold sores.
More Questions & Answers...