Famvir and Canker Sore vs Cold Sore

[blueduck]

Hello.  I have recurrent cold sores and have a Famvir prescription for this.  Two weeks ago, I felt and saw redness, lumpiness and then a whitish sore that I associate with cold sores and hurriedly bolted down 1500mg of Famvir. But the sore/lesion seems to have been on the inside of my lip (the moist inner mouth), and not on my skin. Stupidly I didn't think of this til later.  I think, in my panic, I just went for the meds as the easy solution without thinking.  Upon reflection, I think it may have been a canker sore, not a cold sore, and my understanding is that cold sores aren't common inside the mouth.  In any case, it went away within 12 hours, and now it's like a clear dark dot, as if I had a pencil jab there.  It's been this way for most of the intervening two weeks, with no pain, itching, nothing.  I'm posting because I'm still wondering what it was. If it was a canker sore, why did it react to the Famvir?  Does Famvir still have an effect on canker sores then, as well as cold sores? Am I contagious? Was I ever contagious? And can I actually kiss my husband again?

Thanks for any advice!  Much appreciated.

[gracefromHHP]

oh make him get tested! why worry if he already has hsv1 too?

grace

[blueduck]

Grace, thank you so very much! It sounds like I can start kissing hubby again, and generally stop being paranoid about my lips.  The more I think about it, the more confused I get over this one. Canker or cold sore, I am thankful it's gone, and whether it was coincidence or false alarm, the medication at least gave me some peace of mind.  It's helpful to know that Famvir doesn't act on canker sores though, and will save me meds in the future.  Hubby hasn't been tested for HSV1 as he's never had any symptoms. He is of the mind of, we'll deal with it if our don't-kiss-or-touch policy fails.  He's less paranoid than me.     Thanks again!

[gracefromHHP]

famvir works by disrupting the viral replication process. canker sores aren't caused by a virus to famvir wouldn't help them. hard to tell if this was your hsv1 flaring up or just coincidence that it went away so quickly after starting famvir.  No harm in treating though that's for sure.

has hubby ever been tested to know his own hsv1 status?

grace