Unfortunately, some children get cold sores repeatedly, often on the same spot on their face or lip, such as this child with a cold sore on her lip.
Child with a Cold Sore
Photo © Rebecca Ellis
For kids who get
cold sores over and over again, they will often feel some pain, burning, or itching at the site of the cold sore before it appears.
Other symptoms of cold sores include:
- a group of vesicles (small, fluid filled blisters) appearing on a red area of skin
- vesicles that quickly develop crust on them
Although several medicines are available to treat cold sores in children, the main one that is available for children is acyclovir. This cold sore medicine must be used 4 to 5 times a day though and must be started as early as possible once the cold sore develops to be effective though. And not all experts agree that acyclovir is effective to treat cold sores in children...
Untreated, cold sores usually go away in 7 to 10 days.
