Don’t Kiss a Blister
While people can have oral herpes and be asymptomatic, meaning that they show no symptoms, HSV-1 is particularly contagious when sores or blisters are present. If your partner has a visible sore, don’t kiss or touch the affected area. Cold sores are highly infectious and can be passed on easily upon contact. These sores tend to appear between two and 12 days after exposure. The first outbreak, or appearance of sores, is signaled by burning, itching and tingling on the lips and mouth. When sores do occur, they last approximately seven to 10 days, causing mild to severe blistering of the mouth, tongue and lips. Initially, the blisters appear as painful red spots that then evolve after a few days into clear, yellowish, fluid-filled blisters. Finally, the blisters burst and leave ulcers that scab over and heal in about 10 days.
Symptoms of oral herpes can go away on their own after about two to three weeks, but this does not mean that the virus itself has left your system. If left untreated, the HSV-1 virus can cause subsequent outbreaks. These outbreaks can be triggered by a host of stimuli, including exposure to sunlight, fatigue, physical and emotional stress, and so on. A person with an untreated oral herpes case can expect to have about four or five outbreaks per year, resulting in sores that can last up to 14 days.
Now for the good news: Oral herpes can be detected through testing. There are a few reputable online online STD testing that can test and confirm the presence of oral herpes in a couple of days. (Read more about STD testing in Scared of STD Tests? Here's Why You Shouldn't Be.)
