Oral herpes causes
Herpes simplex is a DNA virus that causes sores in and around your mouth. Two herpes subtypes may cause these sores.
- Herpes simplex virus type 1, or herpes-1, which causes around 80% of cases of oral herpes infections
- Herpes simplex virus type 2, or herpes-2, which causes the rest.
Oral herpes symptoms
Incubation period: For oral herpes, the amount of time between contact with the virus and the appearance of symptoms, called the incubation period, is 2-12 days. The average is about four days.
Duration of illness: Signs and symptoms will last two to three weeks. In addition to below symptoms, fever, tiredness, muscle aches and irritability may occur.
- Pain, burning, tingling or itching occur at the infection site before the sores appear. Then clusters of blisters erupt. These blisters break down rapidly and, when seen, appear as tiny, shallow, grey ulcers on a red base. A few days later, they become crusted or scabbed and appear drier and more yellow.
- Oral sores: The most intense pain caused by these sores is felt when they first appear, and can make eating and drinking difficult. The sores may occur on the lips, the gums, the front of the tongue, the inside of the cheeks, the throat and the roof of the mouth. They may also extend down the chin and neck.
- The gums may become mildly swollen and red and may bleed.
- Neck lymph nodes often swell up and become painful.
- In people in their teens and 20s, herpes may cause a painful throat with shallow ulcers and a greyish coating on the tonsils.
