Can Children Get Cold Sores?

Cold sore is in the form of a blister of purple or reddish color which is formed on the outer edge of the lip of the child. This sore can appear as a single sore or in certain case in the form of bunches. The blister or blisters so formed are sometimes filled with fluid. These blisters generally last for two weeks and a scab is formed on them before they die away.

Generally no treatment is required to be done except in case where they repeat again and again or in aggravated cases. Some people also call them fever blisters but it is not necessary that you have fever before you get them. Similarly it is not necessary that you have a cold before you get cold sores.

What causes cold sores in children?

These are the result of viral infection called herpes also generally called hur-peez. This is a common infection found worldwide. The herpes infection is of two types, namely HSV 1 and HSV 2. Both these viruses cause cold sores around the lips in the mouth of a person affected. HSV 1 is quite a common virus which affects most of the population of USA, though in a large number of cases no symptoms become apparent. The common cause of transmission of this virus from one person to the other is by kissing, use of glasses or other utensils of the affected person.

Once a child gets infected with this virus, the virus is retained in the body for rest of the life even when the cold sores go away. The retained virus may reappear at some point of time and may again cause cold sores in the mouth of the child or simply remain dormant. In case of reappearance of cold sores, they generally reappear at the same point at which they first appeared.

Prevention is the best method to remain away from this viral infection. In case you know that a person has got cold sores do not kiss him or her, or if you have cold sores do not kiss the child. The virus survives on the clothes so these should not be shared or mixed up with the clothes of your child. As far as possible utensils of the infected person should be kept separate. Those kids who have had cold sores once should keep stress away. Too much exposure to sun may also result in relapse of cold sores. When a kid who has had cold sores has to go in the sun, he should apply some protective lotion like sun block lip gel etc. In short eat well, rest well and keep happy to prevent reappearance.

Treatment of cold sores in children

Treatment is generally not required for cold sores. They will automatically disappear in ten to fifteen days. In case of acute pain, you may hold some ice wrapped in cloth on the sore, this may help ease pain and you may be able to eat food with some comfort. In case of acute pain, the doctor may recommend medicine for treatment of herpes virus and a pain killer. When a child has cold sores he should be made to wash hands very frequently. He should not be allowed to touch the affected part or pierce the cold sore. By piercing the liquid which will come out may cause infection in other parts of mouth, nose or even eyes.