Hi Reddit,
I am a stupid and terrified young man. I got a cold sore shortly after going on a date last week, and quickly treated it with Zovirax (Aciclovir). I don’t even think the cold sore blistered properly, because of how early I treated it. About 7-9 days after symptoms began, I had still a red patch of skin where the cold sore had been, but my lips looked normal, just a little red. They generally crack and become red around this time of year, and the cold sore had been gone for a few days, so I thought nothing of it. I had another date and we had sex, we made out a lot and I gave them oral. That was yesterday – today I learned that cold sores can still be contagious when the skin hasn’t fully healed. I’m sure there was still some redness yesterday, but today my lips look completely normal – just a little chapped from the cold weather. I am extremely worried. What is the likelihood that I’ve given them herpes / a cold sore?
1 comment
Herpes can be contagious even in the absence of a sore. It’s possible you could have given her herpes — if she didn’t have it already, which many people do — but I’m not a doctor and can’t give you any specifics on how much viral shedding there may have been towards the end of your active cold sore.
In future, it’s definitely safer to wait until the sore is completely gone. Here’s hoping things will turn out okay for her this time.