Question:
approximately a week ago i kissed someone who i did not know very well and who gave me a bad feeling (by which i mean seemed to engage in high-risk activities like promiscuous sex and drug use). why did i kiss her? foolish drunken mistake? anyway, no signs of cold sores or any visible signs of herpes as i paranoidly observed her face.
a few hours after this encounter i began to feel a tingling and painful feeling in my lips. it is now seven days later and i have no sign of a cold sore or a rash even but i still do have pain and discomfort in my lips. from my knowledge of herpes, a cold sore would have manifested by now. correct? and i would not have felt this feeling just hours after my encounter? i have been slathering my lips with blistex and every other balm and even oxy pads i could find and now my lip is a bit raw and dry, and i am in more discomfort. i have also been popping lysine tablets.
i have tmj and suffer from tooth and jaw and ear pain on the left side of my face, which is the side i am suffering lip discomfort on. i have had lip discomfort at other times and have never had a cold sore appear and chalked it up to the general pains i feel on that side of my face at various times. i have had ear pain last this long due to tmj but never lip pain.
but based on my situation (time between kiss and feeling/no manifestation now 7 days later/kisser not obviously contagious) does it seem like this is not herpes? i understand not every case is the same, but this is all i have to go on. thank you for any input. i appreciate any thoughts. and i know the obvious answer is "go to a doctor" but it is 4 in the morning right now so that is not an option and i was hoping for some input. thank you again.

Answer:
let me also add something i didn't realize is if someone is already infected then they can't get infected again.
i am not sure if i was ever infected but my mother has herpes (in her nose i think) and my girlfriend of 8 years had it (also nasal) so it is possible i was infected at some time. i have a memory or two of maybe during college having a painful what i thought was a pimple or two on my lip area (my college roommate for 4 years had oral herpes and i did at points share glasses and bottles with him).
i am reading the first outbreak is usually the worst. is it possible i have herpes and my "outbreaks" just manifest as lip pain and tingling?
i guess that is off-topic but i guess the main question to repeat would be-i wouldn't feel symptomatic mere hours after a kiss, would i? and the tingling and pain wouldn't last 7 days without the appearance of a rash or cold sore, would it?
let me also add that about three weeks ago i had pain on my lip and slathered it with blistex and again, that time there was no manifestation of anything. just some discomfort. like i am feeling now, but only for a day or two.

Answer:
i will continue responding to myself since i can't sleep because i am freaked out.
my lip still hurts.
i will also add in previous months i have had these weird feelings on my lip where i sort of feel like i have dried food on my lip and sort of keep licking my lip like a freak when i am out trying to get the imaginary food off. and this is how it feels now but worse. that never manifested itself into a sore or a rash, just a feeling.
my lip is so chapped from all the stuff i have been putting on (mostly from the oxy pads i am slathering it with) that i have no idea what is going on anymore.
i am now more concerned i have had herpes and could be spreading it-though my GF of 8 years never had any um issues (well she has it nasally, as i said) but we engaged in oral sex enough i would imagine something would maybe have become apparent over that time. i am maybe not understanding how it works.
i also expressed to a friend two evenings ago my fears of having herpes and how my lip felt and scoffingly, he drank from my soda bottle and then shared it with his girlfriend. i guess to show me he didn't believe me. i hope he is ok though chances are he has oral herpes too from previous experiences (he is quite promiscuous), i guess!
still i am confused....

Answer:
First, don't take this wrong... but you really sound worried! First, try to stop stressing. Even if you have herpes it won't kill you!

Second, it would be extremely unusual to develop symptoms so quickly (within hours) after an encounter. It might not be impossible because the more I learn about H the more I realize how unpredictable it is, but it does take time to enter the cells and start the infection process... there are some biological time requirements I would think that it would take...

Anyway, maybe you have been exposed to oral herpes already. It's estimated that 50-80% of people have it... so, it's not a stretch of the imagination. Since you have TMJ and other issues, your tingles could be from that, or perhaps, it's been HSV1 all along.

Of course I think you know this already, but you really have to get tested if you want to find out. If you end up with it, yes, it is possible to pass it to your girlfriend but if she already has it (orally-nasally), then her risks of acquiring it genitally from oral sex are reduced (but not impossible)... might be a good idea for her to have the testing, too...

Good luck! maybe it's all just TMJ, or maybe some of the TMJ will turn out to be herpes... and even though there is a risk of aysmptomatic shedding and stuff and you don't want to be reckless, don't stop living life just cause of H...

Answer:
good advice. i know it isn't the end of the world.
i guess i am just trying to figure out what is going on now.
i am now at day 8 or 9 of lip pain and no sign of a cold sore or rash or blisters or anything. but it is tough to ignore the discomfort i am in.
thank you for the response.

Answer:
I want to second the comments about the tmj causing a miriad of sensations in the face and jaw. I hope you're seeing a specialist for this.

Even if you have been exposed to herpes before it is possible to be infected again with either a different strand or a new strain. Having the virus already would afford you some antibody protection but it won't prevent a new infection if there is active virus present.

It would be unusual to react immediately and perhaps it is an emotional reaction to your fears about this woman being infected.

btw - magnesium supplements are very helpful with tmj -

Answer:
What is this about having Herpes in the nose? I haven't heard of this before. I thought it was either orally or in the genital area.