PSA: What a fever blister Really feels like…

I spent the last week suffering with a fever blister (also known as a cold sore).  I’ll be the first to admit that I tend toward the dramatic. In this instance, when I say suffer, that is exactly what I mean.  From what I can tell, people who have never had a fever blister/cold sore have no idea what the hell they are talking about when they talk about fever blisters.  I’ve suffered with fever blisters off and on since I was a child, and over the years, I’ve often noticed that I tend to only receive sympathy from those people who have also suffered with fever blisters.  Obviously, this is because those who have never suffered from the scourge of the lip can even begin to imagine what the small, skin lesion or rash actually feels like.

I didn’t actually notice this as a problem until a few years ago when the makers of Abreva (the over-the-counter cold sore remedy) ran a commercial depicting people suffering with fever blisters.  It was absolutely, ridiculously inaccurate.  First of all, it downplayed the affliction, and then at the end showed a lady wearing a turtleneck shirt actually pulling the collar up and over her lips.  OMG.  If you knew what a fever blister actually felt like, you would realize that a person suffering from one would NEVER actually do that.  It would be entirely too painful.

Fever blisters are like the devil’s spawn taking up residence on your lip.  Unfortunately, they are never described adequately.  I have read many descriptions of Herpes labialis outbreaks, and most are similar in nature to the following description:

An outbreak usually involves:

• Skin lesions or rash around the lips, mouth, and gums

• Small blisters (vesicles) filled with clear yellowish fluid

  • Blisters on a raised, red, painful skin area

  • Blisters that form, break, and ooze

  • Yellow crusts that slough to reveal pink, healing skin

  • Several smaller blisters that merge to form a larger blister

Notice how, while that sounds nasty (and it pretty much is, I won’t lie to you), they fail to mention just how painful such outbreaks actually feel.  My description would include a vise grip, a forest fire, and poison ivy oil applied liberally to the lip at once.  I have drawn a picture*.  I wanted everyone in the world to know once and for all just how entirely, excruciatingly painful fever blisters are.

Luckily, I have made it past the vise/fire/poison stage of my infection, and am well on the way to having a normal lip again.  I am all kinds of excited about this development. 

One last thing I would like non-sufferers to realize… Not only are fever blisters the single most painful affliction to ones lip, they also tend to develop during times of stress.  It’s like your stress is playing itself out on your face.  You don’t even get to suffer in silence, because everyone around you knows just how stressed the fuck out you are… well, they do now. 

Hopefully, I have enlightened the masses. 

I have at least made myself feel better.

Love,

Kate

*You wouldn’t believe how proud I am of this illustration, nor how much time I spent making it.