Cold sores aka HSV-1
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All viruses have the ability to infect certain kinds of cells with some specificity. For example, HIV infects a specific type of white blood cell called a CD4 T-cell. Herpes viruses infect skin and nerve cells. They can infect different parts of the skin depending on what part gets exposed to the virus. The lips and genitals happen to be common locations of exposure. HSV1 and HSV2 can both infect both sites, they are not exclusive to one site or the other. In addition, herpes can cause meningitis if it manages to travel along the nerves up to the brain (usually this only happens in patients with immune compromise). Look up “herpetic whitlow;” nurses commonly get herpes lesions on their fingers from taking care of sick patients who transmit the virus.
In between outbreaks of blisters, the dormant virus actually resides in nerve cells, specifically dorsal root ganglia.
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