another "pimple or cold sore" situation

[danger22]

Almost two weeks ago, I notice a painful feeling deep in my skin above my lip. pain only when I press down on it, otherwise nothing. no visual sign of anything on my lip at this point. Let's call this day 1.

over the next several days, a red bump forms in that spot. no pain, itching, or tingling really - just a tenderness when pressed on. if the bump wasn't located pretty much right on top of my upper lip, I would have just figured its a pimple, and not a possible cold sore. I feel like I have had pimples that start just like this before, just not on my lip.

so the bump got very large and at first it wasn't really poppable. no white head. If I pressed my tongue against the underside of my lip, underneath the bump, the center of it would turn white. After shaving on day 5 or 6, a flake of skin was hanging off on it, so I pulled the flake off, which allowed some white / clear / reddish puss to come out. maybe some blood too. A day or two later, after doing a facial scrub, a little more white puss oozed out when I put pressure on it with my tongue against the underside. The bump was diminishing and flaking a bit around this time. This past weekend (day 9 or 10) I popped it again, and this time puss exploded out, followed by blood. A little scab pin point appeared on the bump after that.

Now it is day 13, the bump is small, and the red mark small too, but its lingering. I am almost certain this is/ was a zit, but I still am sort of putting my life on hold just in case this thing was a cold sore. to not date or kiss anyone until its 100% gone. is that just me being overly cautious? it I have a feeling it may take another week for the bump to be completely gone...

for reference...
I have never had a cold sore before as far as I know, and tested negative for hsv 1 and 2 about 6 months back using an  igg test.

I kissed a new girl a week or so before having noticed the pain. didn't notice any lesion on her lip though.

my diet also changed from traveling during the week of getting the bump. less healthy, lots more bread and cheese.

I called a dermatologist on day 5, but they were booked for weeks. So I just figured I'd wait it out. At this point, it would be too late to see one and get any definitive answer right?

more questions:
Do cold sores ever pop or ooze multiple times over the course of several days or even a week? Or is it just one "breakage" of the blisters?
Do cold sores ever pop "explosively" - like where you have to wipe down the mirror after?
Could a primary hsv1 infection produce ambiguous symptoms, to be confused with pimples?

Thanks for your help. btw, I have pictures of it too, but I think I have read there are rules against that?

[catinbarefeet]

Hi danger22 - HSV is passed via skin-to-skin contact either via mucous membrane (mouth, genitals) or a portal (cut, wound, tear) in the skin. About 65% of the population has HSV-1, orally and/or genitally, according to Dr. Anna Wald at the University of Washington. It's passed quite easily through the mucous membranes in the mouth.

However, I have never heard of a lesion exploding in the way you describe. It does indeed sound like a pimple.

The very next time you have a sore, and you're worried, go and get it swabbed before 48 hours have passed. That will tell you for sure whether you contracted it. Don't wait more than 2 days, or you risk a false negative

Also, if you're truly concerned about the kiss, you could get another IgG blood test 3-4 months following exposure. That should tell you more.

[Life360_Dave]

Short kisses is not how this is contracted, you need some exotic rubbing kisses to be at risk for contracting. Younger children are more prone to contract hsv1 by short kisses as their immune systems are not really built strong yet, but with adults the opposite is true. Sounds and appears more like a zit than herpes and most often if they do appear its on the lip not above it.
Also herpes blisters are just that more like a topical blister. As you describe its a bump.
Its estimated that 70% of the adult population would test positive for hsv1 as was acquired at childhood. If your concerned have a test in three month or is another appears, have it swabed and cultered but within 48 hours after it appears.

[danger22]

To be clear, I did kiss a new girl, about a week prior to these symptoms. That's sort of what prompted all this.

[danger22]

that is correct, unless of course this is a new infection from kissing, or something.

does my situation sound like it could possibly be a primary hsv1 infection? that's basically what I'm asking.

[Life360_Dave]

Hi, if you tested negative for hsv1 and 2 then your symptoms would not be related to herpes.