From a focal skin issue to a systemic disease: the multifaceted nature of cold sores, novel findings

Abstract

Cold sores, a viral infection caused by the herpes simplex virus, are a prevalent affliction affecting millions of people across the globe. In this article, we explore the constitutional symptoms of cold sores in more detail to reveal what patients experience during an outbreak. A total of 400 participants with cold sores were enrolled in our cross-sectional study. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire that collected information on demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, and constitutional symptoms associated with cold sores such as fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, malaise, and nervousness. Participants were asked to rate the severity of each symptom on a scale of 1-10. The commonly reported constitutional symptom was malaise (51.4), and fever (48.8), followed by headache (39.3), muscle aches (33.8), swollen lymph nodes (28.3), and nervousness (32.2). Nervousness was reported by 91 patients (22) on the first day, which was followed by the appearance of a cold sore later. The median severity score for fever was 5.0 (IQR = 3.0), for headache was 5.0 (interquartile ranges = 4.0), for muscle aches was 4.0 (interquartile ranges = 3.0), and for swollen lymph nodes was 4.0 (interquartile ranges = 2.0). Our study provides important insights into the prevalence and impact of constitutional symptoms in individuals with cold sores. Our findings demonstrate that constitutional symptoms such as fever, headache, malaise, and nervousness are common in individuals with cold sores, with a prevalence of up to 51.4 in our study.