To ask if this sounds like a cold sore

[icequeen34]

I'm 36 and never had a cold sore in my life. Dp says he's had them before but not had an active one in many years. In the five years we've been together I've never seen him with one.
Last week I had what I thought was a tiny pimple or blocked pore on my lip line, not the lip itself. I stupidly squeezed it (I know I know) and it left an open, round wound behind. Dp remarked it looked like a cold sore but given there had been no blistering and I'd just squeezed a spot I felt sure it was that.
A week on it's still not fully healed (possibly my fault for putting make up on it to cover it up) but more worryingly a cluster of similar, smaller 'scabs' have cropped up around it. It does look very much like a cold sore in the healing stages. Could this be possible when there was no visible or multiple blisters to begin with? Or could it just be a skin infection spread by the pimple?
Im feeling self conscious, it's still sore and mostly I'm concerned because I haven't exactly been careful with my hygiene, sharing towels and kissing the kids because I felt sure it wasn't a cold sore.
Is there any way to tell for sure? How do you cope with cold sores and does this sound familiar or do they always begin with multiple fluid filled blisters? Help!

Sounds like a wee spot.
How to cope with cold sores, not sure what you mean by this but you just do what you are doing re hygiene and towels.
You can get some antiviral cream over the counter and then just wait for it to heal, which it will do in its own time.

I get a lot of cold sores, i don’t get a blister, its just a lump and then it scabs over. Mine sting and feel like an open wound when I pick the scabs off, feels completely different to a spot.

Thanks @Pickypolly - I just meant how to soothe them and speed up healing time. I don't really want to use cold sore medication if it isn't a cold sore. It's just really hard to tell!!

Could it be Impetigo? Might be worth calling the docs, get it checked out

@Brendabigbaps that sounds very very similar to what I currently have

@MoonDelay googled impetigo and it doesn't look as severe as some of the pics that came up for that. It started as a bump/spot that left a round wound and now it's scabbed over and there are other, smaller scabs around it.

It doesn’t really sound like a cold sore to me and I get them a couple of times a year. I get a tingling sensation followed by a swollen bump underneath the skin. It takes a little time to come to the surface and break the skin and definitely cannot be popped prior to this because of its depth and the intense pain it would cause.
If you do have cold sores though be careful about touching it and then touching eyes/genitals etc as you can spread them to new areas. Valaciclovir and antiviral creams have never helped me. The best thing to prevent them is to prevent dry lips with regular lip balm.

@icequeen34 Yeah the Google pics are on the extreme side, I had it as a teen and had a handful of scabs not nearly as severe as the Google pics. The way it presents is very similar to what you've described though, I think I got Bactroban prescribed for it.

I get two different sorts of cold sores - you know that's what they are when the same thing reappears in the same place. One is a tingly rough patch in the corner of my mouth, no blister, the other isn't tingly or irritating, looks like a spot just to the left of my cupids bow, that is then joined by two smaller spots either side, before disappearing, where I then have a little crater on my lip.

Impetigo, although only a small patch.

Definitely doesn't sound like my cold sores.

It does have the same sort of yellowy crust as impetigo but it's not rashy, there's literally two noticeable wounds/scabs surrounded by a tiny cluster of smaller ones. I would attach a pic but I don't want my face in it and if I get close up it just blurs!

It doesn't sound like a cold sore to me.

When I get a cold sore I put a Compeed patch on at the first itch or tingle. They hurt like fuck taking them off (I change them when the edges peel), but I find they heal much quicker because they don't dry out.

If I get more than one at a time then I get Aciclover tablets because mine are always at the right hand corner of my mouth so one on the top lip and one on the bottom joining makes it agony to open my mouth.

With regard to hygeine. I change my toothbrush after a cold sore (I only get it once or twice a year so it's not mega wasteful). I use my own towels and I make sure that any facecloths or sponges are well out of reach of the kids. I also change my pillowcase each day I have one, but that's because I sleep face down.

I second impetigo, it sounds like what my mum had when she was told she had it a few years back.

Could you take a bigger pic and either crop it or scribble your face out?

Sorry this is really unclear but it's the best I can do lol. Initially it was just the bigger 'wound' but now there is one above it and lots of redness and some tiny blemishes around it. Not really clear here sorry.

Can you pop to a pharmacist and ask them for their opinion?

Lysine will prevent cold sores from reoccurring
I take it all the time and haven't had one in years.
I'm not sure if it is a coldsore, but if your DP has the virus even without symptoms he could have passed it to you. I wouldn't worry though. No point, and it likely isn't one.

I get different kinds of cold sores and the one that comes on my bottom lip sounds (and looks) exactly like yours.

For years I got more classic cold sores on my upper lip that were huge and eventually I got acyclovir tablets which seemed to work to stop them. I still occasionally get one in the same place but smaller but I also started getting ones like yours on my lower lip.

Was it absolute agony when you popped it? Because if so it may well have been a cold sore, but also you are proper hard.

No it wasn't painful to pop it literally did just feel like a blocked pore but the mess it left behind it like nothing I've had before. It's very sore and inflamed even now a week later and it's the multiple other little blemishes that have also appeared they make me think coldsore.

I suffer with them although I haven't since I had lip fillers two years ago. May or may not be a coincidence I don't know.

However I treat mine with hand gel what you use for Covid sanitising your hands. Literally dab it on a tissue and apply it several times an hour, all day and it's usually gone in 24 hours.

If I get a blister I pop it will a needle and then dab the hand gel on. It stings like fuck but it's gone the next day.

The gel seems to burn them off. Vile I know but it works.

It sounds and looks like the cold sores I get however it could also be a mild impetigo possibly aggravated If you're wearing a mask a lot. Pop in to a pharmacy to ask advice/check

I only get cold sores if I've been really stressed and they usually take about 2-3weeks to disappear completely. I can't use Zovirax as it seems to make mine worse, possibly sensitive to one of the ingredients I think. I had one on holiday and they advised propolis cream which made a huge difference. I've also used lysine before and it seemed to help it clear quicker.

Just go to the chemist and ask them

Those who suffer from recurring cold sores try a low dose of Lysine daily. Up to two or three tablets if you feel an attack coming on.