"Cold sores" or "fever blisters" usually show up on the lips or inside the mouth. They are common in young children. Brief, direct contact is all that's needed to pass the virus. Cold sores are annoying but harmless in children and adults. But cold sores are very harmful to a newborn. Oral herpes in adults is usually a "flare-up" of a childhood infection.

My personal symptoms. Outbreak site is my right side lower lip. First feels like a stay hair is on the skin below my lower lip. After about 12 hours of that, the "tingle" feeling people speak about, to me it feels like a bug crawling around under my skin from my lower lip across the cheek to the ear and into the hairline - UGH. As soon as I feel that "stray hair" on the skin I take 2 prescription ZOVIRAX Capsules then 1 cap. 5 times a day for 5 days. For me Zovirax is a wonder drug. The herpe sore is 1/10th of the normal ugliness and is 100% gone in 5 to 7 days not the 3 weeks time to heal without the drug. I have tried VALTREX and it worked the same as if I had eaten M & M's (didn't taste as good). Hope this helps.