Whether you prefer to call them cold sores, fever blisters or herpes you are referring to the same thing.
Cold sores are lesions that are caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Most people carry this virus, but not all of them develop blisters. Approximately 8 out of 10 people have could sores at some time in their lives. The virus lies dormant inside the body until something causes it to become active. There is no known cure for the herpes virus. As people age the severity and frequency of outbreaks generally declines.