There is a common misconception that canker sores and cold sores are related or are the same things. That isn’t true. The truth is that no one in really sure of what causes canker sores. There are some likely theories, but nothing that has been proven beyond a doubt. Cold sores on the other hand are caused by a hepatitis virus and specific treatments are in place in the medical world for these sores.

While canker sores and cold sores aren’t related, they do share a couple of common traits. The first is that they both often reoccur. Since cold sores are caused by a virus, once you have it, it doesn’t go away which means the sores will come back. Times of extreme stress and other types of illness have been documented as times when cold sores are most likely to reoccur. Considering that the cause of canker sores isn’t known, no one knows why they come back. Like cold sores, some believe that it is due to stress and other physical factors like poor nutrition. The resemblance between the two conditions ends here though.

Here are just a few ways that canker sores and cold sores are different from each other.

• Location
• Cause
• Contagious factor

Canker sores and cold sores show up on different areas of the mouth for the most part. Canker sores make their appearance on the inside of the mouth. They can show up on the gums, under the tongue, and on the inside of the lips. In contrast, cold sores are most often found on the outside of the lip, most commonly in the corner of the mouth.

We already discussed the differences in the causes of canker sores and cold sores. Due to cold sores being caused by a virus, they are contagious. You will most likely get the virus from an infected person when the cold sores are active, or when they are visible. It is possible to get the virus from drinking after someone or kissing them. The cold sores are the only manifestation of the virus and other than that, it isn’t dangerous. As far as canker sores and cold sores are concerned, it doesn’t matter how often you get them or how severe, they aren’t contagious at any time.