Herpes or Insane?

[leed234]

This is lengthy so bear with me. About 2 months ago I was dating a woman who failed to divulge she was prone to cold sores. I only found out as she developed a lesion a few weeks after our first kiss. She said it was no big deal, 80% of the population has it and I would be fine since she didn't have a lesion when we kissed. She directed me to some websites to calm my fears, or insight a riot, about getting herpes. All the information and misinformation caused a short circuit. Within a few days of visiting the first site and learning about the prodrome phase I developed a tingling sensation appox 1 inch from my lip that has persisted for about 1 month without a lesion forming. QUESTION 1. Could this merely be a nervous response to my fears? Why did not lesion form? Next came the chapped lips which I assumed was another potential outbreak. I began a process of licking my lips to soothe them only to make matters worse. Again no lesions. QUESTION 2 What is the best way to treat severe (red & burning) chapped lips? Progressing further, I now have what appear to be small white dots along my lip border. No clusters, not clear, more linear and solid white. Terrified again, I tried Abreva on the spots to not avail, only a slight redenning of the area around them. QUESTION 3 What are these white dots? Will they go away? Finally, yes finally, I have developed a raw irritated spot at the corners where my lips join. Again no lesions just irritation & redness. QUESTION 4 Is this just a progression of the chapped lips? I see my GP next week to be tested and discuss all these issues but I needed some answers before then to stop the sleepless nights. Have my fears manifested themselves into a dermatological trifecta?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

1.  Nervous yes, herpes no.
2. Vaseline.
3. White dots are sebaceous (oil) glands--visible against the pink lip background.  You see them when you're looking really hard, as you are.  They are normal and mean nothing.
4. Irritation at the corners of the mouth is called angular stomatitis--irritation from saliva, etc.  It is not herpes.

Check this out when you see your GP.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[Demarche]

I get herpes sores on my upper lip. Other than the tingling (which should not have lasted a whole month) this sounds nothing like herpes to me - the chapped lips and sore spot at the corner of your mouth sounds like exactly what happens when you lick your lips a lot.

[tadpoles]

Haha!

the same thing happened to me, and the only reason I don't already have herpes (so far as I know) is because I'm so damn paranoid of getting getting it.   Herpes is like a conspiracy that nobody talks about and it seems like there is a secret society or something because I imagine 40%-80% of the worlds population has it and most people have no idea how they contracted it.

Should we blame those damn hippies and the stupid sexual revolution for tainting us with this annoyance?  Or should we all just sign up and get infected so we all have it and call it even.  I'm sorry if i don't ever want to make out again, I just don't want to be a host to a ***** infecetiuos virus that will probably be infectious if i'm real stressed out the day before I finally die.

Paranoid.  This stuff can make you insane and so anxious that you almost feel like burning your lips off with acid after you kiss someone, or yes, putting on two thick coats of lip gloss first.  Man, then because you're so paranoid you start thinking that you will get it as poetic justice for being so scared, or the secret herpes society of the complete domination of HPV will get your number and give you herpes in your sleep.  It's like the movie "They Live" with Rawdy Rawdy Piper, you don't know who's on your side and you don't know who you can trust.  

... ugh, life is so complicated.  Is this a huge deal, or really nothing?