This pamphlet will consider cold sores on the face. This common infection is known also as 'fever blisters'. The first symptom is itchiness and tingling at the site of the developing infection, usually on the edge of the lips.
Blisters soon appear and later burst to become crusted sores.
The person usually feels unwell. The infection occurs only occasionally in some people but frequently in others. It usually begins in childhood as a mouth infection. The virus then lives in the nerves supplying the skin or eyes, waiting for an opportunity to become active. It may erupt on any area of the body's skin or in the eyes.