Oral herpes

Oral herpes is an infection caused mainly by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). It is part of the diseases included in the TORCH panel. The transmission is mainly by mouth-to-mouth contact, although it can also be transmitted to the genital area by oral-genital contact, causing genital herpes. The greatest risk of transmission is when there are sores. Rarely, HSV-1 is passed from mother to child during childbirth, causing neonatal herpes. The symptoms are tingling, itching, blisters, discharge, and scabbing. In a first outbreak you can experience fever, sore gums, throat, head and muscles, as well as swollen lymph nodes. In many cases, there are either no symptoms or they are very mild. Recurrences are frequent because the virus remains latent in the body and can be activated by fever, hormonal changes, stress, fatigue, exposure to sun or wind, changes in the immune system and skin damage. Treatment consists of antivirals to speed up the healing process. As prevention it is recommended to avoid contact with the skin, avoid sharing items and keep your hands clean while there are blisters. The diagnosis of oral herpes is made by viral culture, PCR and detection of antibodies in the blood.

Oral herpes due to HSV-1 is a widespread infection worldwide and there is no cure. It is normally acquired during childhood and lasts a lifetime. It is estimated that around 4 billion people are infected worldwide. People who already have HSV-1 infection cannot get that virus again, but they can get a genital HSV-2 infection, and people who already have HSV-1 cold sores are unlikely to get HSV-1. same virus in the genital area.

There is a certain percentage of oral infections that can be attributed to HSV-2, so distinguishing the type of virus causing this infection is very important, since genital HSV-1 infections they are not as severe clinically and are less likely to recur than those caused by HSV-2.