How Long Does Herpetic Gingivostomatitis Takes To Get Cured?

Posted on Sun, 16 Mar 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 16 Mar 2014 Answered on

Mon, 7 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My 4 year old daughter has Herpetic Gingivostomatitis. She started with a fever last Tuesday and continues to have fevers ranging between 100.5 and 103.5. She continues to get new sores in her mouth and she is almost completely hoarse. I have been giving her children's Ibuprofen to ease discomfort. She is drinking and urinating normally. My questions are: 1. It has now been 6 days and she is worse today than yesterday, is this normal? When can I expect improvement both with fever and mouth discomfort? 2. She has seen the Dr. twice for this, once on Friday and again on Saturday. Neither took any blood work, should I pursue blood work to see if there is anything else going on? 3. Is there any topical oral numbing agent I can use on her mouth sores to relieve some of the pain? 4. How much longer should the fever last before I take her back to the Dr.? Thank you in advance for your help!

Answered by Dr. Geetika Paul (47 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Oral herpes infection, takes time to heal Detailed Answer: Hi I understand your concern regarding your skin problem and I hope I am able to help you in the same . Now since your child has developed herpetic gingivostomatitis, I would like to tell you that this disease takes its own time to completely heal. I would like to know what all medicines is she on? Did your doctor start her on any oral antivirals? Since it appears that she has developed a severe episode , she might need a course of oral antivirals along. Fever is commonly associated with this problem. You can simply give her some oral anti pyretics like paracetamol . As far as the associated pain is concerned, there are various oral numbing agents available otc. You can buy lidocaine gel or something like Orajel or Ambesol , whichever is available . These can especially be applied to the affected areas before eating food so as to minimise the associated discomfort . Also there is no need for any blood tests since they would not help in any way. This episode might take ten to twelve days for complete healing or sometimes even more , depending upon the severity . Hope it helps Please ask if you need any further clarifications Dr Geetika Paul

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Geetika Paul (2 hours later)

Hello Dr XXXXXXX XXXXXXX Neither Dr, prescribed her antivirals. When she was seen on Friday, we were unsure of the exact diagnosis (she thought it could either be strep or HG)... the Dr. took a culture for strep, which came back negative on Sat. XXXXXXX got markedly worse on Sat., so I took her into Kaiser's weekend facility and that Dr. confirmed she thought it was Herpetic Gingivostomatitis. I asked her if XXXXXXX should get a round of Acyclovir and she said they don't usually give it because it doesn't do any good. I also asked the Dr. how long XXXXXXX should have the fever before I should be concerned and she said, if XXXXXXX still has a fever Monday or Tuesday she should be seen again. If she has a fever tomorrow, should I take her back into the Dr.? What can they do for her? Wouldn't the antivirals have been more effective administered earlier? What do you think about the fevers? She still goes up to 102 or 103 between doses of Ibuprofen. Would she benefit from an antiviral at this point? Should I ask my Dr. to prescribe one? She seems to be more and more miserable rather than getting better... is this normal at day 5 or 6? Thank you in advance.

Answered by Dr. Geetika Paul (12 hours later)

Brief Answer: Need further assessment Detailed Answer: Hi again Since your child is running very high fever even on day fifth or sixth, it is not really a very good sign. I would suggest you to see your doctor again. Antivirals would not really help now. They should have been started earlier. But the high grade fever is a sign of a secondary infection in most cases . This means that the oral lesions might have been infected further. She surely needs to be assessed once again and thereby the need for antibiotics might be considered if there are any signs of a secondary infection over the oral lesions. You should try and give her plenty of water and other fluids. Maintain a good oral hygiene by using betadine gargles three to four times a day. I would again stress the need of a repeat examination by a specialist if possible. Dr Geetika Paul

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar