Infection by HSV-1 is the most common cause of<unk>  that affects the face and mouth<unk> <unk> , although within the recent years an increase in oral HSV-2 infections has been reported. Studies demonstrated different rate of<unk>  prevalence in different populations, nevertheless lifetime prevalences of<unk>  has been estimated 42.1% and 32.4%, in women and men, respectively. There are some evidences that report higher rate of<unk>  in low socioeconomic status. A majority of primary HSV-1 infections occur during childhood. Early HSV infection could be asymptomatic without any obvious skin lesions. Transmission commonly occurs when infection source comes in contact with the mucosa or abraded skin. However there are other rout of transmission such as infants born to infected mothers who are also at risk of catching the HSV-1 during the delivery. The estimated duration of primary HSV infection has been estimated between 2-20 days after contact with the source of infection. Skin involvement usually appear as grouped ulcers or vesicles on an erythematous base. Subsequently skin vesicles may ulcerate and then become crusted. Primary HSV infection in adolescents frequently manifests as severe pharyngitis with lesions developing on the cheek and gums. Some individuals develop difficulty in swallowing. Once a primary oral HSV-1 infection has resolved, the HSV enters the nerves surrounding the primary lesion, migrates to the cell body of the neuron, and becomes latent in the trigeminal ganglion. In some patients, the virus reactivates to cause recurrent infection, which is more common with HSV-1 than HSV-2 oral infection. Even though trigeminal ganglion is the most common location for HSV-1 infection, inferior and superior cervical ganglia could also become infected with this serotype of<unk>  simplex. Prodromal symptoms often precede a recurrence, which typically begins with reddening of the skin around the infected site. Pain, itching and paresthesia are some of the other prodromal symptoms in<unk>  simplex infection. Duration of the prodromal symptoms can range between few hours to several days before lesions develop. Some factors such as concurrent viral infection, trauma, menstural period, fatigue, stress and sun exposure could trigger recurrent<unk>  simplex lesions. It has been estimated that patients with HSV-1<unk>  infection could experience recurrent infections 1-6 times in a year. Each episode of<unk>  infection is less sever and shorter, compared to previous episodes of<unk>  infections. There are numerous differential diagnosis such as oral candidiasis, aphthous ulcers, squamous cell carcinoma, leukoplakia, behcet's disease, crohn's disease and burning mouth syndrome. Some conditions such as leukemia, bell's palsy, chronic atopic dermatitis and Human immunodeficiency virus infection have been known as associated conditions in<unk> <unk> .<unk> <unk>  simplex infection is usually diagnosed clinically, nevertheless PCR test, immunodot glycoprotein G-specific (IgG) test, skin biopsy, virus culture and direct fluorescent anti body (DFA) studies are some of the available laboratory investigations to better diagnose<unk>  infection due to<unk>  simplex. Unfortunately there is no approved treatment to completely eradicate the<unk>  simplex virus from body. Nevertheless antiviral treatments have been successful in lowering the severity and duration of skin lesions. The available antiviral drugs that can be used for<unk>  simplex infection include acyclovir, valaciclovir, famciclovir and penciclovir. Acyclovir is effective in decreasing the viral shedding period in infected patients (median of 2.5 days when patients received acyclovir, compared to 17 days). It also has been reported to be efficient in augmenting pain resolution and healing of the skin lesions.
Herpes simplex orofacial infection
Herpes simplex anogenital infection
Herpetic gingivostomatitis
Granulosis rubra nasi
Oral allergy syndrome
Herpes labialis
Larva migrans
Oral candidiasis