Opening a book or a website and, without warning, seeing gruesome photographs of what a herpes outbreak looks like can be extremely upsetting, so you'll see no shocking photos of herpes lesions here.
The not-so-unpleasant photograph of the Herpes Simplex Virus below should be more than enough to help you identify whether what you are experiencing is herpes or not. It shows the various stages of how blistering might take place.
You'll see a firm-looking nodule at the very top of the lip. This nodule appears after the shedding stage (tingling, pain, or itch). To the very right of the upper lip, you'll see a nodule beginning to fill with fluid. The whiter patches represent a cluster of blisters starting to break open. The crusty-looking spot is a broken lesion drying and beginning to heal. Of course, to be sure, you should always visit your care provider for a proper diagnosis.
Genital herpes (HSV-2) looks no different than cold sores (HSV-1) or Shingles. You can click the image to enlarge it.
If you are curious, you can visit Google.com, click on the word "Images" (top right-hand corner of the screen), and type in "Herpes Simplex Virus" to view images, but I don't suggest it. Some photos are practically obscene, certainly not images of average outbreaks, and will scare you unnecessarily. You may lie awake at night wondering if that will be you, and it doesn't have to be. Not ever.
Back to HSV Q & A.
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