Can you get cold sores from kissing someone? You sure can. To know the how, why and what of the whole matter, read the following article.
In the heat of the moment it just happened. He walked down the road in beige capris and shoes to match. She walked over with her hair smelling of vanilla and her perfume lightly misting the air. They got into the elevator together and pressed the button to the 5th floor. The sexual tension in the air, they breathed through it all…and then the lights snapped and sudden darkness did fall.
The lift it stalled abruptly and the dim orange light came on. Her red lips and perspiration above his, it happened quite as suddenly, and they kissed. And while they locked lips, the lights they came on, the elevator it started again and shot right up. On the 5th floor she smoothed her hair and got out before he did. Then while parting she turned to him and noticed what she hadn’t before. There on his upper lip was a tiny red bump. It looked like a cold sore and she thought about what she had done. Would she get one now or maybe not…what was to be done? Would she have it caught?
OK, so your story might not go on the same lines as this one did and there might not be the dramatic element attached. Maybe you have someone steady in your life and they have contracted a cold sore somewhere around the lips. Or, you might be getting to the kissing stage soon in your relationship and the cold sore seems to be a problem. Whatever the situation is, it’s natural to wonder whether you can contract a cold sore by kissing someone who has one. To say it simply and clearly – Yes you can. Very much so. But you aren’t just going to accept it at that, are you? You want to know how it happens and what is one to do about it. We will get into that in the following section and give you answers to the same.
How Does One Get Cold Sores?
Cold sores are also known as fever blisters and are caused by the herpes virus (HSV-1). When the virus enters the body after an infection, it lies in the dormant stage at the roots of the nerve cells, only to be activated with any future infections like a cold, flu, stress, fever, sunburn, trauma and others.
A cold sore will usually appear anywhere around the lip on either side and is reddish in color. It looks like a pimple that has been crusted over. It is sometimes filled with liquid and in due course of time will harden and crust. These cold sores can appear as a single entity or in a bunch. There is varying degrees of pain and itching experienced when there are cold sores coming up. In the growing stages it can lead to a lot of discomfort and cause for severe pain. These are some of the common signs of a cold sore. Simple activities like eating or speaking might also worsen the pain experienced. In some people cold sores inside mouth is also a common phenomenon just as it is on the surface of the mouth. Which is an even more annoying ordeal to deal with.
Is it Possible to Get Cold Sores from Kissing Someone?
Are cold sores contagious? Yes, they are. The herpes virus can be contracted with touch. For example, if a person who has a cold sore touches it and then without washing his hands touches the surface of the table, and then another person comes over and touches the table, there are high chances that the virus will get transferred into the other person’s system. For that matter, even sharing the same plates, or clothes or being in the vicinity of a person who has cold sores can make you susceptible to contracting the same. That is why, when you kiss someone and are physically in contact with the cold sore, it completely heightens your chances of getting one as well.
What is One to Do About the Cold Sore?
So then, is one just supposed to wait the period out till the cold sore has disappeared to kiss someone? Unfortunately yes, unless you both want to be flaunting one together. I didn’t think so. It is quite sad, but then you can help matters by getting rid of the cold sore. How? Here are some methods that you can use as the best treatments for cold sores:
- Get on a course of antiviral and pain medication so that the process is hastened.
- Keep the cold sore clean by using hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol for the same.
- Use cold or hot packs to help ease the pain and reduce the inflammation that is caused.
- Deal with the dryness that cold sores invariably lead to by applying petroleum jelly to the wound.
- Use a salt pack to draw out the pus in the cold sore, such that the pain is eased and the healing is hastened.
- Certain herbal remedies like aloe vera gel, sage and tree tea oil, when applied on the cold sore help in healing it faster.
There you have it, your answers to (and in complete detail, might I add) the query- Can you get cold sores from kissing someone. So I’m guessing there’s going to be some staying away from the lips that is going to happen. Sad, yes, but for your own good.
