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Diagnosis / Tests for Cold Sores

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Diagnosis / Tests for Cold Sores

In most cases, the diagnosis of a cold sore can safely be done at home. Usually, a person’s past cold sores (medical history) combined with the first week of symptoms (tingly sensation followed by a small reddish bump and ending in a blister like sore) is sufficient evidence in confirming a cold sore. A comparison to pictures of cold sores can help. Make sure that there are not several bumps or lesions appearing at once. If there are, it is best to consult a physician.

Apart from home diagnosis, there are other more precise methods of diagnosis which can be performed by your physician or dermatologist. These include blood samples (serology), cell scrapings and culturing.

Each diagnosis method is described below:

• Culturing is a relatively old way of diagnosing cold sores. Culturing involves growing he bacteria/virus and studying its properties in order to confirm its presence. This process can take several days, at which point the symptoms of the cold sore may be full blown or even gone. The results of the test simply indicate the presence of HSV1, and are not 100% accurate.
  
  
• Cell scrapings can now be taken and analyzed under a microscope. The scrapings are taken from the cold sore, can distinguish between herpes simplex 1 and herpes simplex 2 and can be completed within an hour.
  
  
• Serology is a technique used to confirm herpes in a patient. Blood is taken from the patient and analyzed, where antibodies produced to combat the herpes virus are examined. This test can indicate if herpes was contracted recently.

In the case of oral herpes, or HSV1 and cold sores, the above medical examinations are not usually necessary. These tests are usually used for the diagnosis of genital herpes. Other circumstances where a physician may order a diagnostic test are if the patient is suffering from extreme cases of oral herpes or has a separate immunodeficiency disorder.

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Diagnosis / Tests for Cold Sores