Herpes or Abcess

[confused545]

Hello,

two days ago  I felt a pimple growing under my mustache.  I let it go as being an ingrown hair.  the next day my lip was swollen right under the area I felt the pimple coming up.  as the day went on my lip got bigger, but I did not feel any irritation on my lip, it felt more like a pimple growing behind it.  By tthe time I got home my lip was huge, thus making me go to the hospital that night.  when the doctor looked at it, she determined it to be an abcess.  it was more like one big huge bump on my lip or my lip just looked swollen.  they gave me a pill to take and prescribed some medicine.

the next day i went to work and did not have time to fill the prescription. during the course of the day my lip went down slowely and by the time i got to sleep my lip looked normal.  yesterday my lip was fine the whole day but as the day grew on i felt it bothering me a little again.  this time it itched a little but nothing to serious. i just felt it arising again but by this time it was late at night and i was at my second job.  i went to sleep last night and woke up and it is back but with somewhat of a head.  my lip looks swollen and and i have no clustering on my lip but at the top right unde rmy mustaches and the very lining of my lip where the swelling is seems to be somewhat of a main head with a little bit of clustering around the head, but the swelling is whats more noticable.  

my question is, could the doctor have misdiagnosed me.  has there been cases of oral herpes to where the lip gets really swollen before hand?  no itiching occured until last night but the itching is minimal.  it is not painful but i can just feel and see it being there.  once the doctor gave me medicine  the swelling went down for a day but it came since i only took one pill.  my last sexual encounter was march 6th.  i had unprotected sex with this woman.  i know her pretty well and i have no bumps anywhere else.  would you be able to help me? thank you in advance

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Nothing you have described is even vaguely suggestive of herpes.  I suspect that you indeed do have an abscess, that the initial treatment that you received in the Emergency Department partially treated it but that by not filling the prescription you have suffered a relapse.  On some occasions these sorts of lesions need to be drained to get better.  I am by no means suggesting that you squeeze this but instead, hot compresses to the area may bring it to a head and cause it to drain (burst).  the antibiotics the doctor prescribed will help the infection in the surrounding tissue to clear up.

Good luck.  EWH

[confused545]

thank you for much for your timely response. thank you for your help with everyone who posts. your knowledge and willingness to help others are much appreciated.