Tingly Lips, No Visible Spots

[douglas87]

Hi,
I kissed a person who to my knowledge did not have any visible herpes spots.  This was several days ago.

My lips have felt somewhat numb and tingly since.  I have no visible spots or anything abnormal on my lips, only this sensation.  Its been almost six days now.  What could this be?  Might I have contracted herpes?  I am certainly stressed about the issue, so maybe the stress is what is causing the sensation.  How should I proceed?  Should I wait to see if get any sores or is this even worth worrying about?

Thanks very much!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum. I'll be pleased to comment. It is quite doubtful that the tingling that you are noting is due to herpes.  It's not clear to me how long you have been experiencing this sensation but if it has been more than a few hours then you can be confident that it is not a manifestation of a herpes infection.  in some people who acquire or have HSV, local tingling at the site of an outbreak can precede the outbreak by a few hours but not longer.

Further, from what you describe, there is little risk for HSV.  The risk for kissing a person with a herpes lesions is low and the risk from kissing someone who might have HSV but does not have lesions is lower still.

tingling of the lips can originate from many things including simply breathing too fast or anxiety, as well as from local irritation.  From your description however, herpes, should not be a concern for you.  EWH

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Correct, this is not related.  The lesions of HSV, if you had acquired it would typically appear within 4-14 days of exposure. If it has only been 30 hours, it is also too soon for this to be HSV. EWH

[douglas87]

Thank you so much for your reply.  Yes, it has been at least 30 hours of tingling.  So I would assume that this is not related.  How long would it take before a lesion to appear if I did happen to have herpes?

Thanks again!