peeling skin...infection?

About a year ago i burned the area above my lip. It seemed to be fine until a few months ago when it started getting red and peeling. It sometimes stings and it is very irritating. I recently went to the doctor and he said it was herpes and gave me a cream to apply to it. Is it really herpes? What can I do?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The symptoms of herpes cannot be predicted at this stage. Pain, burning, tingling, or itching occurs at the infection site before the sores appear. Then clusters of blisters erupt which break down. You need to get some investigations like sample from the sores to identify the virus, culture analysis, Tzanck smear, antigen and antibody studies and blood sampling for antibody studies done to confirm the diagnosis. My sincere advice would be to consult a dermatologist.
Hope it helps. Take care and regards.