Cold sore or zit?

[acesh1gh]

Hey all, thank you for reading this question.

I am getting worried because I am growing a small red bump on the edge of my upper lip. If it's a zit, it's just a really bad spot to have it in.

Last night, when I was about to go to bed, I was applying chapstick, and while rubbing it in, I felt what seemed like a huge zit developing. I hadn't noticed it all day, it's like it came out of nowhere.

I woke up today and it looked a little bigger maybe a little redder. There is no white head or any blister like symptoms, at least not yet. It feels like a zit, when you push on it it hurts, but other than that I cannot feel it. I have not felt any tingling or itching or burning, except when I started doing research on "cold sores". Then I could have sworn it itched for a bit, but I think this was my mind trying to play games on me.

I will keep watching the next few days to see if this develops. I tend to eat a lot of fast food, especially all week since I got a ton of coupons, not sure if that matters or not. I can't get to a doctor at the moment because I am waiting for my health insurance card to be mailed to me.

I have had zits on my lips before, including one time earlier this year when I could have sworn it was a cold sore, but it was a red bump that disappeared after a few days as well.

What are the chances this is a cold sore? It's the developing stages that don't seem to add up, but I don't want to make myself feel safe just for the sake of feeling safe if it's really something worse.

I was sick a few weeks ago, but not "flu like symptoms" and last time I was tested I had no STDs including both HSV 1 and 2 (which was early 2009). I have been sexually active and I have kissed many people.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like a boil more than a cold sore. This is because tiny hair are present on the lipline which can turn into boils after getting infected. A boil generally starts as a reddened, tender area. Over time, the area becomes firm and hard. Eventually, the center of the abscess softens and becomes filled with pus. Finally, the pus "forms a head," which can be surgically opened or spontaneously drain out through the surface of the skin.

Boil is usually due to plugged sweat glands that become infected or by an ingrown hair.

Apply warm compresses and keep the area clean. Drainage is done only when it becomes soft and forms a head. Take some over the counter pain reliever and consult a doctor for examination and antibiotics prescription. Till then apply some Neosporin cream on the bump.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[acesh1gh]

Also, the same spot where my the sore is, for as long as I can remember, I've had like a bump there. It's almost non visible, but one time my ex girlfriend noticed it, asking if it was a cold sore. It's never hurt, or never leaked or popped or anything, and it was extremely tiny, not even noticeable to the naked eye.