#DOTS AROUND THE FACE OF MARS SKIN#

Pimples can form blackheads or whiteheads, depending if the follicle remains open or if it closes, whereas a small amount of fluid often forms in cold sores.

#DOTS AROUND THE FACE OF MARS SKIN#

If you have a patch of discolored skin with multiple bumps on it, then it’s more likely to be a cold sore than a pimple.īoth pimples and cold sores can develop heads too, but these tend to look different. Cold sores however often cluster together. However, as they develop, they usually start to look very different.Įven if you have more than one pimple, they tend to be single bumps and usually don’t merge together unless you have serious acne. When pimples and cold sores are emerging they can look similar, like small bumps on your skin without any discoloration. How does it look? Can cold sores look like pimples? When you’re still not sure though, you can consider how it looks too. If you can feel it without touching it, it’s likely a cold sore, if not, it’s probably a pimple. They don’t usually feel tender if you don’t touch them though.Ĭold sores on the other hand tend to tingle, itch, or even burn, without you touching them, and you often start to feel the tingling before they emerge. Pimples usually feel tender to the touch, even painful, depending on how much swelling and inflammation has occurred. How does it feel? How do I know It’s a cold sore? If this is the case, and you’re still not sure which it is, then you can use how it feels to give you a clue. For those close to your lips, around or inside your nose, or on your cheeks, it could be either a cold sore or a pimple. If it is inside your mouth, it’s most likely a cold sore, as it’s rare to get pimples there. If it’s on your forehead or your chin, it’s probably a pimple too.

So if the blemish isn’t on your face, it’s not a cold sore. Pimples can form anywhere on your face or body, whereas cold sores only form on your face, usually around your lips, but sometimes they can occur around your nose, on your cheeks, and inside your mouth and nose. But the following differences can help you work out what that blemish on your face is: Where is it? Do you get cold sores only on your face? Differences between cold sores and pimples – Is it a pimple or cold sore?Īlthough they’re caused by very different things, cold sores and pimples can sometimes look similar, especially in the early stages of their development, and particularly if you’ve never had cold sores before and you aren’t personally familiar with them. More severe pimples, like pustules and cysts, occur when you have a bacterial infection, especially when the infection spreads outside the follicle and deeper into your skin, causing more swelling and inflammation. You get a blackhead when the follicle remains open and the blockage inside is exposed to the air, and you get a whitehead when the follicle closes. Bacteria can grow in the blocked pore too, leading to inflammation and swelling. You get pimples when your skin follicles (the small holes in your skin that hairs grow out of) become blocked, usually by dead skin cells or by the oil your skin produces (sebum).

They can form anywhere on your face, and anywhere on your body. What does a pimple look like when it starts?Ī pimple is a small bump in your skin that can have a black tip, a white tip, or no tip at all. Most of the time it lies dormant in your nerve cells and you have no symptoms, but every now and then it reactivates and spreads though your skin cells, causing an outbreak of cold sores. Once the herpes virus gets inside you, it’s there for life. What causes a cold sore?Ĭold sores are caused by an infection of a herpes virus, usually herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), but sometimes by herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), which more often causes genital herpes. What does a cold sore look like when it starts?Ĭold sores, sometimes also called fever blisters, are small blisters and sores that usually form around your lips, but you can also get them on your chin, cheeks, and inside your nose and mouth. We’ll explain how you can tell the difference. And whereas pimples aren’t contagious, cold sores can be, so you need to be more careful if you have them. You do need to know exactly what you’re dealing with, as cold sores and pimples are treated differently. Neither is particularly desirable, and we’re sure you want to get rid of your blemish as soon as possible. Cold sores and pimples can look similar, especially if you have a pimple close to your lips.

Dots around the face of mars