Cold sore or cracked lip?

[SuperHypochondriac]

Alright, well, first off, since I was a child, I've been getting cracked lips on the corners of my mouth on rare occasions. I'm now 17 years old, and I still get them every once in awhile during the cold weather, or if I don't get enough hydration, but since I've been drinking lots of water, these cracked lips haven't appeared in a long time. Well, at least until recently.

So what has me actually concerned here is that earlier during the week, I caught the common cold from hanging out with one of my friends who was sick with the cold. On Tuesday morning, which was the first day my cold kicked in, I woke up not only with the regular cold symptoms (stuffy nose, achy joints and headache) but I also woke up with extremely dry lips. I figured it was just the usual cracked or chapped lips, probably from the dry air, but today I'm a bit worried about the condition. When I checked them out earlier this evening, it seemed like some bumps were developing on my lips. Currently, I have one pimple-like bump on one side of my lip (as seen on the left side of picture), and on the other side are small dry spots on my lip. I cannot tell WHAT in the world they are because they are rather small and not very noticeable. I have to look especially close to be able to see these dry spots on the left of my upper lip.

Now I'm kind of a hypochondriac. Once I started researching all of this information on Herpes, I started flipping out, thinking that I have HSV 1. I'm worrying because if they ARE cold sores due to HSV 1, I don't want to pass them to my boyfriend (who I'm supposed to be seeing tomorrow.) Assuming from what the internet says, a cold sore seems to always be HSV 1.

So, I'm seeking some advice, hopefully some that will put my mind at ease about all of this. How do you tell the difference between HSV 1 and a cracked lip? Is a bump or dry spot on the lip definitely a cold sore? These are some things I'd like to know.

Thank you.

[hopeimright]

Check out angular cheilitis before you freak out over herpes to make sure it's not this. I have it right now and it can also cause whiteheads to form around the infected area which is most normally one or both corners of the mouth. Multiple causes and many diff opinions on remedies. But from what I have read and about try are ointments that are antibacterial also I read that hydrocortisone cream works wonders. If at home and no way to get this then they also say honey, lemon, and also cucumberS rubbed on the area. Leave stuff applied for 15 min. Then clean off. Stay hydrated and try not to touch it as much as you can with fingers or lip balm applicator. Fingers especiallY. If only one side infected do not touch other side with same applicator or finger used on infected area. It will spread! It's basically a fungus/bacteria combo that can get really painful and annoying. Like said above vitamin b 2 or iron deficiency or zinc can cause it. Licking excessively or drooling at night. Or just poor hygiene in moutH.  Hope this helps.  

[streetdoc]

Well for starters, a cold sore is caused by the herpes simplex virus. the 1 in hsv-1 just designates the area of the body affected. 1 means above the waist and hsv-2 means below the waist. this is a common condition affecting over 80% of the earth's population. the herpes,shingles,and chicken pox are all basicly the same virus. The varicella virus. symptoms of a true cold sore are usually a tingling sensation on the spot where the bump appears right before the outbreak. Once the bump appears there may be oozing,pus etc. and also it may "scab over" resulting in a crust-like lesion on top of the bump. during the oozing and crusting period, this is when it is most contagious. If it is not a cold sore then it could just be a pimple like you said or a heat bump. Dry and cracked lips plus sores on mouth may also indicate a vitamin deficiency and along with other symptoms could indicate stomatitis. They say when you have problems with your stomach you will have problems with your mouth as well. A doctors visit would definitely help you pin-point what it is and a doctor could inform you more specifically when the cold sores are most contagious and what precautions must be taken to keep from passing to others.

[gemini65]

the best solution for cold sores is Lysine. It's available at any pharmacy, otc, and will prevent if you take it regularly. It also gets rid of them.

[SuperHypochondriac]

Additional information: They do not itch. They also do not hurt quite very much. Applying olive oil and lip balm seems to soothe it. As far as I can tell, they also aren't pus-filled.