Do not share utensils, cups or other dishes either.Īs in your husband’s situation, stress is a common trigger for recurrent cold sores. He also should keep his personal items, such as towels and lip balm, separate from other people in your household during the time he has a sore. To keep the virus from spreading, your husband should be careful to avoid kissing and other skin-to-skin contact with you and with anyone else while he has a cold sore. Cold sores that come back in otherwise healthy people are thought to be triggered by stress, fatigue and sunlight. Over time, the virus can reactivate and cause other cold sores to appear. Instead, it remains dormant in the nerve cells of the skin. Once HSV-1 is in a person’s body, however, it doesn’t go away. Most people who get this virus are first infected during childhood, and the initial infection typically produces few symptoms. The sores usually are caused by a herpes simplex virus, HSV-1. You also may hear them referred to as fever blisters. The medical term for cold sores is herpes simplex labialis.

Cold sores typically heal within one week without leaving a scar. After the blisters break, a crust forms over the resulting sore. There are a number of steps your husband can take to reduce the chance of spreading the virus that causes the sores and lower his risk for developing cold sores frequently.Ĭold sores are tiny, fluid-filled blisters on and around the lips. That means any direct contact with the sore could spread the virus. But, it’s also true that some active virus is present at the site of a cold sore. So, your inclination to avoid kissing while your husband has a cold sore is a wise move.

Is this true? Also, are there things he can do to keep from getting cold sores so often?ĪNSWER: The virus that causes cold sores usually is spread to other people through saliva. I always assumed we should just avoid kissing until the cold sore is gone, but I recently heard that even touching can spread the virus as long as it’s visible.

I’ve never had cold sores, and I’d like to avoid ever getting them. Most of the time, it seems they are due to stress. DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My husband frequently gets cold sores.

Can you get herpes from touching