Chance of Passing on Cold Sores

Hi over the weekend i hooked up with a friend of mine who i know get's cold sores from time to time.  I didnt notice any outbreaks at the time so i think the chances of contracting them are low.  However, the next day i noticed what looked like a pimple on the top side of her upper lip.  Nothing that looks like a cold sore.  What are my chances from contracting HSV1 from this exposure.  I have tested negative in the past for hsv1 and 2. I know it isn't that big a deal but still would like to avoid it if possible.

Thanks,

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

If this "pimple" was an incubating cold sore, then transmission was possible, but there's nothing to be done about it now anyway.  If a week goes by and nothing happen,s you're in the clear.  There really is no precaution against contracting oral herpes, except for avoiding kissing someone with an obvious case (or never kissing anyone....)

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[Turquoise]

If it makes you feel a little better...I've been married 44 years and have had cold sores since I was a child yet my husband has never gotten them from me.

I don't kiss him if I have an active cold sore.  In the course of all those years, I feel certain that we have kissed when I was coming down with one and yet it was no problem for him.

I rarely ever get them any more and if I even suspect I might be getting one, I use Blistex and it works overnight.

It is a serious responsibility of anyone who has the tendency to get these things to avoid intimate contact with anyone when there is any chance of contagion.

None of my children or grandchildren have ever had them either.