Introduction
Itchy, burning blisters on reddened skin combined with unsightly, yellowish crusts indicate an infection with herpes. Especially in the area of the lips, many affected persons suffer from the disturbing and painful disease. Doctors then speak of “Herpes labialis” – also known in the vernacular as “lip herpes”.
Less frequent, but equally unpleasant, is an infection with the pathogenic viruses in the area of the nose. Both the mucous membrane inside and the outer skin of the nose can be affected (“herpes nasalis”). Excruciating itching often causes those affected to touch the small areas of infection with their fingers and thus spread the pathogens to other areas of the face or body. However, strict hygiene and suitable ointments can help in most cases!
Cause
About 90% of the population carries the responsible herpes simplex virus-1, HSV-1 for short, in their bodies. During early childhood, people usually come into contact with the virus unnoticed. In some cases, this primary infection appears in children as “mouth rot”.
Once the virus has entered the body, it can remain in the nerve nodes (lat. : ganglia) for life. Affected persons thus either become symptom-free (asymptomatic) carriers or in about 50% of cases a so-called “reactivation” of the herpes virus occurs.
But what is a reactivation? When our immune system is weakened, e.g. by illness, psychological stress or fever, the viruses reach affected skin regions via small, sensitive nerves and cause the typical symptoms there. Normally, reactivations can be observed especially in the lip area.
Occasionally, however, the nose can also be affected by herpes. Significantly more frequent than reactivation in the nasal region, however, is a direct transmission of the viruses. Especially in the case of lip herpes, the pathogens reach other regions of the face, such as the nose, via our fingers.
Small mucous membrane injuries or sore skin, e.g. caused by a cold, also favour a herpes disease. In recent years, there has also been a steady increase in infections in the facial area caused by the herpes simplex virus-2. Normally, this pathogen is responsible for genital herpes infections (Herpes genitalis), but can also reach the lip or nose region, for example, if hygiene is inadequate.
In the course of a cold, our immune system can be affected. If frequent nose blowing causes even the smallest cracks in the mucous membrane and surrounding skin, herpes viruses have an easy job: the herpes virus reactivates and breaks out. In the past, the vernacular also called this phenomenon “fever blister”.
For those affected, a cold and simultaneous nasal herpes are a considerable burden and sometimes extremely difficult to deal with. A vicious circle easily develops between the herpes blisters breaking open due to nasal blowing and renewed infection due to inadequate hygiene. The herpes virus is very widespread in the population.
More than 90% of adults have a latent infection with the herpes virus-1, which also causes nasal herpes. However, this does not mean that herpes always causes symptoms. Rather, the virus slumbers unnoticed in the human body and is reactivated in some situations, causing the herpes to break out.
A cold can therefore not in itself trigger or cause herpes on the nose. There must first be an infection with a herpes virus. This usually occurs at some point in childhood, for example through contact with cold sores on the lips. Typical triggers for a reactivation of the virus are stress, feverish infections, increased exposure to sunlight or various conditions in which the immune system is weakened.