kissing hsv1

[goofy29]

Hi Terri,
I want to understand if I am risk of acquiring oral herpes in the following episode.
I hv previously tested -ive for hsv igg tests. Last night I was with a friend who gave me wet sloppy kisses on my neck and cheeks multiple times.
1. Can this cause oral herpes? Am I at risk. I don't think I saw any visible sores though.
2. Also, how long does it take for symptoms to show up if at all?
3. Can a peck on the lips cause oral herpes?

Thanks!

[goofy29]

Thanks! Just wasn't sure cuZ sometimes you feel a zit coming up as somethign tender and wasn't sure how to distinguish. Is there a difference?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Cold sores don't have a white head, normally.  You could have a zit on the edge of your lip, yes.  Cold sores have a tingling, creeping feeling under the skin.  I have had cold sores on my lip, and I don't feel like the prodrome symptoms are bad, they are just annoying.

Terri

[goofy29]

Hi Terri,
I got a zit/sore today at the border of my lower lip and mouth. It had a white head. Wha is this? Do cold sores usually hv clear fluid? How do you distinguish the two.

If you do get a sore how bad are the prodorm symptoms?

Thanks!

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

The odds just aren't there - the kind of contact you had is not a risk for herpes.  If you were infected and did get symptoms with first infection, the timing would happen 2-10 days after infection.  Sometimes people don't get any symptoms with infection.  Lesions don't need to be present for infection to occur, that's called asymptomatic viral shedding.

Terri

[goofy29]

Thanks Terri. There wasn't mouth to mouth. At max a quick peck.

What are the odds of getting infected?

Also, how soon do you see symptoms?

Do you almost always see them?

Also can you see the lesions on the infected person or can they be missed?

Thanks again!

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I do not consider the kind of kissing that went on with your friend to be a risk for herpes, no.  Was there any mouth to mouth kissing?  That could be a risk for HSV 1, yes, but not the neck and cheek kisses because that skin is very thick and unlikely to allow virus in where the tissues of the mouth are much thinner and much more likely to be a source of infection.  A peck on the lips is very unlikely to cause oral herpes when no symptoms are present, but obviously if there are cold sores present, kissing should be avoided.

Terri