What does Oral Herpes or Cold Sores look or feel like?
(Herpes in Mouth Symptoms: A Cold Sore on the Lips) Oral Herpes normally breaks out in a cold sore. The stages of herpes with cold sores begins with a tingling or irritation around the mouth. This is called the Prodrome and is the first stage of herpes. You are still contagious at this time. Then the area will get irritated and will break out in small blisters. This is when it looks like a cold sore. Then the cold sore will ulcerate (I know, sounds gross). Then the cold sore will scab over. Then it will heal within 3-5 days. Some people even with the virus will not get many outbreaks at all. I have not had a cold sore in two years. But I live a low stress lifestyle and boost my immune system with nutrition. However if you are stressed out and eating poorly or doing lots of bad stuff like drinking and smoking…you can get many cold sores in the course of a year.