This Infection May Be Harmless To Adults, A Threat To Babies

        This Infection May Be Harmless To Adults, A Threat To Babies - It typically starts with tingling and itching before painful, fluid-filled blisters erupt on or around the lips.

Orolabial herpes, commonly known as cold sores or fever blisters, is both unpleasant and unsightly.

The virus that causes it can lay dormant in the body without the person knowing it. Usually harmless to adults, the contagious infection can be dangerous to infants.

We’ve asked experts to explain it and recommend what to do.

What causes orolabial herpes?

It’s caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).

“Most people become infected by a family member before the age of five years,” said paediatrician Dr Hermann Josef Kahl.

Globally, an estimated two-thirds of the population under 50 are infected with HSV-1, which often has mild or no symptoms, according to the World Health Organiza-tion. It’s generally transmitted via saliva or the fingers, sometimes even in the absence of blisters.

Is orolabial herpes curable?

No. HSV-1 enters the skin and travels along axons – the long, slender projections of nerve cells – into a ganglion, or nerve cell cluster, below the temple.

“In this ganglion of the so-called trigeminial nerve, the virus re- mains for a lifetime,” said virologist Dr Thomas Mertens.

Most of the time the virus lies dormant.

But certain triggers can reactivate it, in which case it travels back along the nerve fibres to the surface of the skin, where painful blisters erupt.

What triggers reactivation of the virus?

This isn’t entirely clear. Doctors think that ultraviolet radiation in sunlight as well as emotional stress can reactivate HSV-1.

A weakened immune system can also be a contributing factor.

“That’s why many people get cold sores during a bout with a cold or the flu,” explained Dr Folke Habermann, a dermatologist.

How is orolabial herpes treated?

Antiviral creams, which inhibit viral replication, work only during the first five days of an outbreak.

Affected persons should therefore apply a cream as soon as they feel the telltale tingling that typically precedes one.

“The creams are ineffective once the blisters have dried out and crusted over,” Dr Habermann said, adding that a simple zinc ointment could then be used to speed healing.

In the case of frequently recurring or extensive HSV-1 infections, antiviral tablets may help. There’s no vaccine against the virus.

Are complications possible?

In exceptional cases, a nursing child can suffer severe symptoms during an initial outbreak.

“Sometimes the mucous membrane in their mouth is completely covered with lesions, so they don’t want to nurse any more,” Dr Kahl said.

“Rarely, encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, can occur.”

Left untreated, encephalitis can be fatal, and in many cases, leaves lasting damage.

Parents who suspect their child has contracted orolabial herpes should therefore take him or her to a doctor.