Question:
Hi! I'm a newbie to the forum.

Please forgive me for not posting to the welcome subforum to so hello first, but I'm a little freaked and am hoping you all can help me.

I got my first cold sore blister on my upper lip 18 months ago. A couple have occurred since, but come and gone with no bother; however the last one started 4 weeks ago. I went to bed without so much as a tingle and woke up with a full blown set of blisters. I treated it as normal and the scab went away as normal.

This is where it gets a little wierd. Three weeks later the area is red as if scarred---and while there is no blisters of broken skin at all the area is also sensitive and painful if I bite my lip. I spoke to my doctor who wants me to go back in two weeks if the area is still sensitive and I may be sent to a specialist for a bioposy:(

I have two questions:

1. Have any of you experienced or heard of this sensitivity weeks later...?
2. And am I still contagious considering there are no blisters or broken skin?

Any help much appreciated!

Answer:
you can spreat the virus REGARDLESS if you have a coldsore or symptoms present or not. It is like russian roulette in terms of spreading it without knowing you are contagious. It can happen randomly without the presence of a coldsore so please educate yourself, it will help tremendously in understanding herpes. Also, as far as the redness and pain, I would say that is alerting you that the virus is on the skin and yes you are contagious. I have genital herpes, but have never gotten a blister or anything resembling one. I get redness in the area and sensitivity and that is a form of an outbreak for me. I also grew up with a girl who had redness around her lips periodically and never knew till we were adults that those were her symptoms of oral herpes(she rarely got what looked like coldsores) so just be aware of all this. It can save you the pain of infecting someone else because you didnt understand the seriousness of oral herpes.