Primary Herpes of the mouth part 1

Primary herpes Primary oral herpes infection is also known as herpes gingivostomatitis. All this means is that the herpes virus has caused an infection around the lips, gums and mouth. The initial infection is always the most painful and most individuals never forget it. The infection causes painful sores or blisters around the mouth and gums primarily.

It is believed that most individuals get their initial infection during childhood. Even though many children acquire the virus, only 1/100 develops a full blown infection.

Children are quite prone to herpes simplex infection. The majority of children acquire the virus between the ages of 4-8. Children usually get the virus from adults. Some of the ways the virus is transmitted to children include kissing, hugging, touching or even sharing contaminated utensils.

The infectious period is associated with a low grade fever, tiredness, fatigue and general malaise. Some children may even develop a sore throat and have difficulty swallowing food. The blisters can develop both on the inside and outside of the mouth. These blisters can ulcerate and are quite painful. The gums may become swollen, red, tender and eating food can be difficult. Foul breath and enlarged glands around the neck are common features during a severe episode of the infection. The acute episode lasts bout 5-14 days and most children take a few more days to fully recover. Scarring of the lips is a rare occurrence with uncomplicated herpes sores.

However, even when the blister has disappeared and all the symptoms resolved, the virus unfortunately goes into hiding. The virus has a great tendency to reside in nerve tissues, where it remains silent

More on Herpes Simplex- Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms

Herpes simplex presents in the same fashion each and every time. The only difference with recurrent infections is that duration may be short, but the pain is still present. Most people have a prodrome (a period when one can sense something is not right) period. Some individuals may sense tingling or numbness on the lips or corner of the mouth a few days prior to the full blown infection. The prodrome period usually lasts about 5-7 days.

Typically most patients have one common symptom- pain. The intensity of pain varies. For most people it is tolerable but in others it can be intense. The pain is burning in nature and usually no home made therapies make it better. Associated with pain may be complains of an itchy feeling around the lips. A few individuals may also complain of a bizarre electric shock like feeling just over the lips.

Vesicles or blisters usually follow the pain and last anywhere from 5-12 days. While most people develop one blister, it is not unusual to see several.Even though lesions are common on the outer lips, the occasional individual will develop painful blisters on gums, tongue and inside of the mouth.During the active infection, the blisters may rupture and ooze a colorless fluid.

After 10-14 days, the blisters dry up and form a scab which falls off. All individuals are very infectious during this time period. The duration of the infection tends to last 2-3 weeks.