Will monkeypox virus cause mouth sores?

Monkeypox – The viral illness is threatening the globe after COVID-19. Even though it has a low fatality rate, it is a matter of concern. Everyone knows that monkeypox victims exhibit skin lesions accompanied by health issues like fever, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headache, etc.

Likely, painful lesions that look like chickenpox also appear inside and around the mouth of monkeypox patients. It is called monkeypox mouth sores.

As mouth sores are prevalent and typically result from an allergic reaction and accidental bites, many people nowadays confuse canker sores with monkeypox. It urges us to curate this blog post on how ordinary canker sores contrast with monkeypox-triggered sores.

How do monkeypox mouth sores occur?

The monkeypox virus can spread to our body’s mucosal surfaces, including oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, and urogenital mucosa. As epithelial cells comprise the mucosal surface, it is highly at risk of microbial infection. It implies that oral blisters start to appear when a person is affected by the monkeypox virus.

Hence soreness occurs in the throat, gums, tongue, and other areas of the sufferer’s oral cavity.

How do the monkeypox mouth sores appear?

Mouth sores caused by monkeypox appear quite larger than normal canker sores. Monkeypox begins with a fever and progresses to rashes on the face, hands, soles, lips, genitalia, and sometimes the eyes. The rashes are followed by developing blisters that evolve in the following manner:

• Flat lesions on the skin
• The lesions are slightly elevated
• A kind of clear fluid forms between the skin and the lesion
• The fluid turns darker later

Those blisters get dry and disappear within 2 to 4 weeks. It clearly shows that the rashes brought on by monkeypox infection can exist only for a few weeks. It also pertains to mouth sores caused by monkeypox.

Are oral blisters a symptom of monkeypox?

Oral blisters (or) Intra-oral lesions occur due to numerous causes ranging from oral trauma and side effects of dental disorders to infectious diseases like monkeypox. If you notice painful blisters around your mouth, it does not mean you have this viral disease.

However, monkeypox infection may be present if flu-like symptoms are present along with throat sores and rashes. Visit your dentist to confirm in such cases.

What should you do if you have monkeypox mouth sores?

Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox is a self-limited disease. Even though it has been declared a Public Health Emergency by WHO, it has low death rates until now. Likely, new monkeypox cases have also been declining recently.  However, the virus infection still exists in some parts of the world.

It implies that you should not ignore the infection and follow the doctors’ recommendations for treatment.

As the intra-oral lesions cause a burning sensation, you should follow the following things to alleviate the discomfort a bit:

• Avoid spicy foods
• Stay far away from hard, crunchy foods
• Take topical pain-relief medications

Do you have questions about monkeypox mouth sores? Feel free to contact our dentists in Guduvanchery or ask them questions in the comments section.