Cold sores aren’t as dangerous if it rarely appears, but if it bothers you once a month or in a season, it can cause serious illnesses such as meningitis, encephalitis, hepatitis and pneumonia.

Upon entering the human body, the herpes virus almost always remains there permanently and almost everyone has antibodies against it.

If your immune system works well, herpes can’t get out of cells, but the weaker the immune system, the more likely it is that rashes will appear on the skin and mucous membranes first, and then more serious problems.

Scientists highlight eight types of herpes. Type 1 herpes simplex often causes lip sores, type 2 herpes simplex, often causing genital herpes. Type 3 is chickenpox and zoster virus, type 4 is the Epstein-barr virus that causes infectious mononucleosis, type 5 is cytomegalovirus, which also causes mononucleosis.

The importance of types 6, 7 and 8 is unclear and they are thought to play a very important role in chronic fatigue syndrome. Some doctors even suggest that they play a role in the development of schizophrenia.

How to understand that the time has come to visit the doctor? 

Specialists warn that if the rash caused by the herpes virus appears frequently this is a sure sign that you need to go to the doctor. 

“The rashes once a year are, in principle, a chronic process. And if a rash appears constantly, every year or some kind of clinical herpes appears, then it is worth contacting a specialist so that the person can be examined and the disease prevented. If a person is infected, then this virus can develop throughout life. But it shouldn’t be acute”

Experts consulted by Revyuh advise..

If we talk about acute cases, a good example would be chickenpox virus, which also belongs to herpes. So those who have had chickenpox in childhood, in adulthood are at risk of getting shingles.

“Under certain conditions, these viruses are activated. And if you have had chickenpox, for example, in childhood, then for life you will have shingles in the nervous nodes. At an older age, under certain circumstances, you can get shingles, a disease that is not very pleasant, sometimes it goes through a rather severe way,” explained the immunologist at the European Vaccination Centre and infectious disease specialist, Zoya Skorpileva.

explain immunologist from the European Vaccination Center

Dangerous cases

Doctors point out that, in most cases, it is not so dangerous, but in certain circumstances, when the immune system is depressed and there is increased stress on the body, with the use of certain medicinal substances herpes becomes aggressive and leads to serious manifestations such as meningitis, encephalitis, hepatitis and pneumonia.

Also, a new infection with the herpes virus is very dangerous for pregnant women. This is dangerous for both the health of the woman and the health of the fetus. That is, if a genital herpes infection has occurred, then this is a direct indication for a cesarean section so that the child does not become infected by passing through the genital tract, because for a newborn this infection can usually become fatal.

To avoid infection, doctors recommend following basic hygiene rules, such as washing hands, eating from clean dishes, brushing teeth, and wearing a mask in crowded places, especially for pregnant women.

Also, do not kiss, hug, eat from the same plate with people who have herpes type 1 in the acute stage. However, if we talk about more serious types of infection, only vaccination will help prevent them.