Do Restylane Injections Cause Cold Sores?

Cold sores are associated with many different potential causes. Trauma to tissue, such as that asssociated with an injection of a filler material, can be associated with the development of cold sores.
If you have a history of cold sores, be sure to tell your doctor before having any procedure performed so an anti-viral medication may be prescribed.

Cold sores are caused by activation of dormant viruses living in nerve cells. Stress, UV light, and any form of trauma or stimulation can activate them. Restylane injections, laser peels, any procedures around the mouth can trigger them.
If you know you are prone to them, ask for a prescription for antiviral medication and you should be ok.

Anytime you have an injection procedure there will be some trauma to the area being injected. The reason your physician asked the question was because it's a possibility that after you have your lips injected, you may get a cold sore. There are ways to avoid the possibility of this happening (with a preventative prescription) and he/she may have been trying to determine whether or not to offer you a prescription as a way to prevent a possible cold sore after treatment.

Almost 95% of the population carries the virus associated with Herpes simplex I. All of these patients are at risk for developing a cold sore after surgical or non-invasive manipulation of the skin using chemical peels, laser, or surgery.
If you have a history of cold sores, speak to your physician prior to the procedure in order to avoid postprocedural outbreaks of cold sores.

 

Thank you for your question. Cold sores are caused when dormant viruses living in nerve cells are activated. This can happen with stress, UV light and trauma, such as injection. Any procedure around the mouth can trigger a cold sore. If you have a history of cold sore, please make sure to notify your doctor before having any procedure done. This is so an anti-viral medication can be prescribed. I hope this helps.