Question:
My 15 year old daughter has what I call ulcers inside her mouth (to be
exact the sores are on the inside of the lip). Both her dentist and
doctor have said that these are caused by herpes simplex virus 1.
From what I have read, HSV-1 causes cold sores and cold sores are
located on the outside of the mouth. Any information would be greatly
appreciated.
Answer:
Hard to give a useful answer on this over the Net, since there's
no way to see the actual lesions. If there are ulcers near or on
the border of the red part of the lip, and they have come back
on a couple of occasions in the same location, this is probably
HSV (there is no way, without laboratory testing, to know HSV-1
from HSV-2 as both can potentially cause cold sores).
If there are shallow ulcers in various parts of the inside of the
mouth, and when they recur they don't always happen in the same
spot, then probably the lesions are canker sores (aphthous ulcers).
Usually, canker sores and cold sores look quite different. However,
a first infection with HSV can sometimes cause ulcers all over
the inside of the mouth that are pretty much indistinguishable
in appearance from canker sores. Some other viruses can do this
as well.
