What are the symptoms of fever blisters?
The first time a child gets oral herpes infection he or she will be very miserable, have a slight fever, complain of a sore mouth and gums and be unable to eat or drink because of pain when fluid or food comes into contact with the sores. Parents will notice small blisters in and around the mouth, on the palate, tongue and throat, which then turn into shallow, painful sores. These lesions may be accompanied by fever and swollen glands. The sores will slowly get better and those on the skin will crust over and heal. The whole episode lasts seven to 10 days. In severe cases children may become severely dehydrated during the primary infection, necessitating admission to hospital and administration of fluids and nutrients with an intravenous drip. Further flare ups of oral herpes at a later stage will manifest simply as a tingling sensation on the lip for a day or two which is followed by the development of a typical fever blister on the lip. Fever blisters are small groups of blisters on
