What are Cold sores?

The real culprit here is the herpes simplex HSV-1 virus and has been around for at least the last 2000 years.

When you are infected with your first cold sore it is the herpes virus and there is no cure and you will have it for the rest of your life. Infection with the herpes virus falls in to two categories and turns in to one of several distinct disorders based on the site of infection.oral herpes the visible symptoms of which are called cold sores, infects the face, mouth and lips. 

Oral herpes or a cold sore on the lips is the most common form of infection. the viruses cycles between periods of active disease presenting as blisters containing very infectious virus particles?that last 2?21 days, followed by a remission period, during which the sores will disappear. In all cases HSV is never completely removed from the body by the immune system. Following an infection, the virus enters the nerves at the site of primary infection, migrates to the cell body of the neuron, and becomes latent in the ganglia.

The herpes simplex viruses most easily transmitted by direct contact with a lesion or the body fluid of an infected individual.

Transmission methods..

The virus can only be transmitted by close personal contact such as kissing and are usually passed on in early childhood when a baby is kissed by a person such as a family member, with an active cold sore. The virus goes through the skin and travels up the nerve, where it lies dormant until triggered.