Oral Herpes (Herpes labialis)

Herpes labialis (also known as “Orolabial herpes”) is an infection of the lip by herpes simplex virus. In many cases, it causes small blisters or sores on or around the mouth that are commonly known as cold sores or fever blisters. Sores associated with herpes labialis typically heal within 2-3 weeks, but the virus that causes them is not removed from the body. The herpes virus infects and becomes dormant in the facial nerves, following orofacial infection, periodically reactivating (in symptomatic people) to create sores in the same area of the mouth or face that the original infection occurred.

Mouth Ulcers

An oral ulcer, mouth ulcer, or, in American English, canker sore is an open sore inside the mouth caused by a break in the mucous membrane or the epithelium on the lips or surrounding the mouth. The types of oral ulcers are diverse, with a multitude of associated causes including: physical or chemical trauma, infection from microorganisms, medical conditions or medications, cancerous and nonspecific processes. Once formed, the ulcer may be maintained by inflammation and/or secondary infection. Two common oral ulcer types are aphthous ulcers and cold sores or fever blisters. Cold sores around the lip are caused by the herpes simplex virus.

Herpes Simplex Virus

Symptoms of herpes simplex virus infection include watery blisters in the skin or mucous membranes of the mouth, lips or genitals. Lesions heal with a scab characteristic of herpetic disease. However, as neurotropic and neuroinvasive viruses, HSV-1 and -2 persist in the body for the life of the carrier by becoming latent and hiding from the immune system in the cell bodies of nerves. After the initial or primary infection, some infected people experience sporadic episodes of viral reactivation or outbreaks. In an outbreak, the virus in a nerve cell becomes active and is transportated via the nerve’s axon to the skin, where virus replication and shedding occur and cause new sores.

Genital Herpes

Herpes genitalis (or genital herpes) refers to a genital infection by herpes simplex virus.

Following the classification HSV into two distinct categories of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in the 1960s, it was established that “HSV-2 was below the waist, HSV-1 was above the waist”. Although genital herpes is largely believed to be caused by HSV-2, genital HSV-1 infections are increasing and now exceed 50% in certain populations, and that rule of thumb no longer applies. HSV is believed to be asymptomatic in the majority of cases, thus aiding contagion and hindering containment.

Epstein Barr Virus

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also called human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is a cancer causing virus of the herpes family, which includes herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, and is one of the most common viruses in humans. Epstein-Barr virus occurs worldwide. It is known to cause infectious mononucleosis, is implicated in the causation of Burkitt’s lymphoma and Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and is suspected to have a role in the pathogenesis of chronic fatigue syndrome.

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