Cold sores or ulcers?

Question

I went to a festival this weekend and had a bit of a nightmare with my lips. The day before I left I noticed a small ulcer on my bottom lip but put a bit of Bonjela on and thought it would be gone before I left. After the first day at the festival the ulcer was a lot larger and open and there were a few smaller ones appearing around it. As the weekend went on the ulcers got larger and spread all around my lips, making it very painful to close my mouth which meant my lips became very dry and chapped in the hot sun. As the conditions at festivals are hardly hygienic I tried the best I could to keep my lips clean and applied Bonjela. I arrived home yesterday and after researching a bit on the internet decided they might be cold sores. All of my symptoms seemed to fit a cold sore description apart from the fact that cold sores appear on the lips and around the mouth. My sores are on my lips where the moist inner section meets the outer lip and I have some ulcer like sores on the inside of the sides of my lips. I bought some Zovirax but it says not to be used inside of the mouth so I'm wondering if I'm just having a really bad mouth ulcer attack. I've never had them so bad though and I'm wondering if ulcers all around the lips are common. Would the camping conditions and hot weather at the festival have made them worse? I have some ulcer cream too but it says not to be used on cold sores so I really don't know what to do apart from leave them. I can't go to a doctor until later in the week and I'm hoping they'll have gone naturally by then.

Answer 1

seek medical advice incase its summit else.

Answer 2

Sounds like cold sores to me. Zovirax or one that contains aciclovir  will do the trick (don't buy any other kind, it won't work) but you have to put it on ASAP, as soon as you feel the discomfort otherwise the cold sore will break the surface and become infectious and you can spread it. You can get a cold sore anywhere on your body, I mean anywhere, even in your eyes so be very careful where you put your fingers when you get a cold sore. Wash your hands when you've touched it.

Stress or lack of sleep, being run down, can all bring the cold sore back to look after yourself and always have some Zovirex or equivalent with you.  

Answer 3

Sounds like cold sores. They can go inside your mouth as well. You need to be really vigilant because they spread quickly - so don't touch it, if you do, don't touch anywhere else and wash your hands. If they really do get to you, see your doctor who might be able to prescribe something else.  Try witch hazel as well.

Cold sores can come up because of a variety of things, since you've been to a festival, tiredness can play a big factor as well as extreme cold/heat. Also, if you've kissed someone who has a cold sore, you're likely to get them too.

Make sure you keep your fluid and food intake up, i know they are really sore and you don't feel like it but plenty of vitamin c will help, drinking through a straw will also minimise how wide you open your mouth which will ease the pain a little.

Answer 4

It sounds much more like cold sores than ulcers.  But you do need to see a doctor if you want to be sure.  We can't tell without seeing them.

Many of us already have the cold sore virus dormant in our bodies, and never have a flare up of cold sores.  We contracted it as children, as it is a very common virus, and children pick it up easily as they often share food and drinks, and may be less concerned about hand washing and hygiene.   Cold sores can be transmitted even when the person does not have a cold sore, though it is less likely to happen then.  

There is no over-the-counter medication or home remedy that cures cold sores.  Only time will take care of that.  But there is a good prescription medication for cold sores.  It will make them go away much faster, and as a result of taking this medication you will have far fewer outbreaks of cold sores.

The absolute best treatment for cold sores is a prescription medication in pill form called Valtrex.  It was intended for genital herpes, but cold sores are caused by the same family of viruses, and Valtrex stops colds sores in their tracks.  None of the other treatments come close to the effectiveness of Valtrex, not the ointment Zovirax, and certainly not Abreva or anything else.  Ask your doctor about it to see if you would be a good candidate for this medication.  My doctor prescribed it for me for cold sores about five years ago and after taking it only a couple of times I hardly ever get a cold sore any more, and before Valtrex I was having several attacks a year.  On the rare occasions that I do get one now, it is gone almost immediately when I take the medication - in about a day.    In the meantime, here are a couple of informative links.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-t...

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/ach...

http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Canker-Sore...

Answer 5

they do sound like cold sores, the virus can lay dormant in your body, maybe someone kissed you with one when you were young then your body has got a bit low and out they come. i have always got them since a teenager whenever i'm low, often before a period. if i go abroad in the sun i always get a lip full as well

zovirax is the best treatment i've found, make sure you use it as often as it says, and it will sort them out.

be careful not to touch them and then touch your eyes etc, also avoid kissing or you'll pass them on (and also oral s*x)

you could go to the doc to confirm it definitely is coldsores and put your mind at rest x

Answer 6

i would go the doctors as it could be impertigo. if thats the case its contagious. impertigo is normally like a yellow scab and forms the way you have described it. its best to be safe than sorry. sometimes though if your run down or your not drinking enough water coldsores could occur then. go on nhsdirect.co.uk and look up your symptoms on there x x x

Answer 7

You need to see a doctor asap. My friends daughter had something that sounds very similar except her's were all over her mouth and she couldn't eat for days so they admitted her to hospital to put her on a drip. She couldn't close her mouth.

Please see a doctor asap.

Answer 8

Yup cold sores.

You must be sexually active as well..