Scientific poll :D

[Stormymystic]

Just thought I would try something to see if I cn prove what reallycauses fever blisters

[Aelia Jusa]

I'd love to answer your poll but I don't know what fever blisters are! Do you mean cold sores (herpes)?

[Stormymystic]

roflmao...yes sorry we call it fever blisters here because they tend to run fevers of their own

[ 06-02-2003, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: Stormymystic ]

[Cristian]

i still dont understand what it is expalain stormy [img]smile.gif[/img]
and lol everyone drools in there sleep [img]tongue.gif[/img]
anyway 3 so far does...

[Cristian]

YAY...im an elminster whoo [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

I used to get what we called fever blisters (literal blisters/sores on the outside of your mouth) during the winter months when I was exposed to cold temperatures and they normally coincided with having a severe cold (accompanied by a fever).

"cold sores" (herpes) as I have come to understand them are smaller lesions on the inside of the mouth and I got them every now and they also coincided with having a cold but a less serious version (and possibly a different "cold" virus altogether.

I haven't had any since moving to a climate where catching a cold is less likely and exposure to large numbers of the population who probably have a cold is just as low.

There are products on the market which get rid of the "fever blisters", "Blistex" and "Carmax" are the two most popular.
Blistex always worked for me and Carmax always made them worse or gave me fever blisters if I ever used it in place of chapstick for a lip moisturizer so if you are using Carmax and have fever blisters often, that could be why...try Blistex, its great stuff.

[Stormymystic]

Originally posted by Cristian: i still dont understand what it is expalain stormy [img]smile.gif[/img] and lol everyone drools in there sleep [img]tongue.gif[/img] anyway 3 so far does...

what I am trying to do is see if there is a link between what we eat and drink that may "spill" out when we drool in our sleep, and the formation of fever blisters

and Itried blistex, and it made it worse, carmex keeps it under control but it still will not heal on me, I have had it going on 3 weeks now, and now another has formed on the other side of the mouth, go figure, there is always something every summer to prevent me from going swimming

Originally posted by Stormymystic: and I tried blistex, and it made it worse, carmex keeps it under control but it still will not heal on me, I have had it going on 3 weeks now, and now another has formed on the other side of the mouth, go figure, there is always something every summer to prevent me from going swimming

I have a lot of friends who say the same thing lol...it must be differing body chemistries that make the medications react so differently with different people.

I hope they go away soon...without the medication I don't know how they go away other than waiting for your body's anti-bodies to rid you of the virus that is causing them.

[WillowIX]

Originally posted by Lil Lil: I hope they go away soon...without the medication I don't know how they go away other than waiting for your body's anti-bodies to rid you of the virus that is causing them.

Now that's the "beauty" of HSV, or Herpes simplex virus. The antibodies can't clear the infection. Instead the virus lay dormant in neurons I believe it is. Then something triggers teh virus and a new infection takes place. There are several so called triggers. I'll see if I can look them up somewhere.

Couldn't vote in your poll Stormy. Questions 5 and 6 were a bit hard for me to answer.

[Epona]

We call them cold sores here in the UK.
They are caused by type 1 Herpes Simplex Virus (a different strain than the one that causes genital herpes, although you can also get type 2 around the mouth area but it is more rare). Another type of herpes causes chicken pox and shingles.

When you first catch the virus, it does not result in a fever blister, but a sore throat, red sore gums, and small ulcers inside the mouth (this first infection is called primary herpetic stomatitis and you may not remember having it if it occurred in early childhood). After your body has fought off this illness, the virus remains dormant in your system, and will always be there. About 1/3 of people infected with HSV1 will go on to develop recurrent fever blisters.

Because it is dormant, it may come back at any time - and it does this in the form of a fever blister. This is usually when your immune system is depressed - either through fighting other infections such as colds or flu, or stress. They can also be triggered by sunburnt lips, chapped lips or getting cold and wet around the mouth (so YES - drooling in your sleep could well be a factor!)

Cold sores are contagious, so you should avoid touching them or kissing during an outbreak, and if you are treating them wash your hands before and after treatment.

You can transfer the outbreak from your lips to your fingers if you keep touching them! This is called herpetic whitlow. You can also transfer the infection to your eyes, which can cause damage to the cornea and possibly blindness. So do be very careful to wash your hands if you touch the fever blister.