Best Foods for Healthy Skin Slideshow Pictures How Much Is Psoriasis Affecting Your Life? Take the Skin Quiz

Medical Author:

Mohamad El Mortada, MD

Medical Author:

MaryAnn Tran, MD

Medical Author:

Corrine Young, PharmD

Medical Author:

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Cold Sore Prognosis

There is no cure for cold sores. The herpes simplex virus hides deep in nerve roots and cannot be wiped out by medicines that are currently on the market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that there are products that falsely advertise that they are getting rid of herpes for good, but these claims are fraudulent. The virus will continue to live in the nerve root despite treatment, and most people will continue to get cold sores off and on throughout their life.

Herpes can be spread from a cold sore to another area of the body, which is called "autoinoculation." For example, touching a cold sore on the lip can cause herpes of the finger (herpetic whitlow). Autoinoculation occurs most commonly at the time of primary infection when viral shedding is high and the immune system is still gearing up to contain it. The antibodies that are made after primary infection are usually -- but not always -- successful in preventing autoinoculation during recurrent attack. To prevent spreading the virus to other parts of the body, it is important to wash hands after touching the sore. One question that is sometimes asked is Do cold sores cause genital herpes or are they contagious to genital areas? Although it is possible to autoinoculate the genital area, most cases of genital herpes are acquired through sexual transmission.

A more serious complication is ocular herpes, which causes sores and severe pain around the eye. Ocular herpes is also caused by autoinoculation. If untreated, ocular herpes can lead to serious eye damage or even blindness.