Possible herpes

This morning I noticed one small slightly painful bump on my outer labia. Every time I have gone to the bathroom since then I have noticed another similar bump and now I have about 8 of them. My boyfriend had a pretty good sized cold sore on his lip and I am wondering if he could have passed that to me down there? Is that possible? I am really worried!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Although HSV2 causes genital herpes but HSV 1 which causes cold sores can also cause herpes blisters on other parts of the body. The only way of ruling it out is by getting yourself tested for genital herpes. Laboratory tests include: culture of the virus, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) studies to detect virus, skin biopsy, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for presence of viral DNA. I sincerely advise you to consult a dermatologist and get it ruled out.

I hope it helps. Take care and regards.