This past Saturday (1/1/11), a bump appeared on the edge of my lip. It looked like it may be the beginning of a pimple or a cold sore. The idea that it could be a cold sore occurred to me only because of the location. I have never developed cold cores that I can recall, and tested neg for HSV1/2 the last time I had a full panel performed in early October.
By the time the bump had fully formed Saturday evening, the white head of it had become very prominent. It was small, there were no other blisters, it was not sore to the touch, and there was very little red to it at all. The hard white head was all that remained. I began applying tea tree oil to it with a q-tip, and it has shrunk and and appears to be healing even now. I had planned to have it cultured, but by the time I can get an appt at the clinic, it might be gone, especially if it continues to shrink/heal at its current rate. Again, I'm simply alarmed since it formed right on the border of my lip. I had my mother take a look at it. She is a nurse, and also suffers from occasional cold sores, and she said that it doesn't look like a typical cold sore, and if it doesn't really hurt much, she has further doubts that it is HSV1.
1. Given that the overwhelming majority of the bump is a hard whitehead, and it doesn't hurt, would you wager that this is something other than HSV? Does the level of pain vary greatly in HSV1 outbreaks?
2. The bump seems to be healing/shrinking with the topical application of tea tree oil. Could this ever occur with a herpes related sore? Do HSV sores ever heal without breaking, weeping, and scabbing? This one seems to be retreating back into the skin (at least for the time being), not unlike a zit.
Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
-JWSR