Where the Lesion Sits Is the First Diagnostic Clue
Placeholder: intraoral mucosa versus the outer lip vermilion border points toward different diagnoses.
- Buccal/tongue: Aphthous site (Placeholder short caption)
- Outer lip: Cold sore site (Placeholder short caption)
- Non-keratinized: Mucosa type (Placeholder short caption)
- Keratinized: Lip skin type (Placeholder short caption)
Placeholder section heading on lesion location
Placeholder: location alone narrows the differential before appearance is even assessed.
Round Ulcer Versus Clustered Vesicles
Placeholder: a single punched-out ulcer looks nothing like a fluid-filled vesicle cluster.
- Round, gray base: Aphthous shape (Placeholder short caption)
- Grouped vesicles: Cold sore shape (Placeholder short caption)
- Erythematous halo: Border (Placeholder short caption)
- Vesicle to crust: Progression (Placeholder short caption)
Placeholder section heading on lesion appearance
Placeholder: surface morphology is the second confirming clue in the exam.
Non-Infectious Ulcer Versus Transmissible Virus
Placeholder: only the viral lesion can spread to other people or body sites.
- None: Aphthous transmission (Placeholder short caption)
- Direct contact: Cold sore transmission (Placeholder short caption)
- Pre-crust phase: Shedding window (Placeholder short caption)
- ~60-70%: Population HSV-1 (Placeholder short caption)
Placeholder section heading on contagiousness
Placeholder: contagion risk changes counseling and isolation advice.
Immune/Trauma Trigger Versus HSV-1 Reactivation
Placeholder: the two lesions arise from entirely different biological mechanisms.
- Stress/trauma: Aphthous trigger (Placeholder short caption)
- HSV-1 reactivation: Cold sore trigger (Placeholder short caption)
- T-cell mediated: Immune role (Placeholder short caption)
- Trigeminal ganglion: Latency site (Placeholder short caption)
Placeholder section heading on underlying cause
Placeholder: cause determines whether antivirals are relevant at all.
Divergent Management Once Diagnosis Is Set
Placeholder: topical steroids help one lesion, antivirals help the other.
- Topical steroid: Aphthous therapy (Placeholder short caption)
- Antiviral cream/pill: Cold sore therapy (Placeholder short caption)
- 7-14 days: Healing time (Placeholder short caption)
- Both can recur: Recurrence (Placeholder short caption)
Placeholder section heading on treatment approach
Placeholder: matching treatment to diagnosis avoids ineffective care.
Placeholder: antivirals do not help aphthous ulcers; steroids do not treat HSV.