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Questions so that I can help:

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,

Can you please upload a couple of digital picture of the sore? Please use the "Upload Reports" button on the screen where you posted your question. I believe you will find it on the right side of the page.

Also, please describe the sore. Is it a cluster of tiny blisters? Is it tender?

Have you ever had cold sores before?

Thanks - I'll respond after I hear back from you.

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Brief Answer:
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Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX,

It's hard to say without being able to see it. HSV1 typically makes a cluster of very tiny blisters and is tender.

Cold sores typically start with tingling. Then there is a period where it looks like a red swollen area. Then the sore becomes little blisters. The blisters eventually merge and become an open sore or ulcer. This then crusts over and heals entirely. The whole thing can take around 14 days from start to healing. Antiviral medications can help lessen the symptoms and shorten the course, but will not eliminate the virus.

It's possible that this little bump is just an irritation or it is an early stage of a cold sore. I'm sorry I can't be more specific without being able to see it.

Be careful to wash your fingers after touching it before touching other parts of your body.

I will suggest, since I can't say for sure what is going on, that you try zinc oxide ointment. Zinc oxide can be helpful for HSV1 sores, and also for minor irritations. You can get it from CVS/Target or Walgreens or other pharmacies, without a prescription.

I hope your bump goes away soon. If it is still there and not going through the description I wrote about above do go in to have a doctor look at it to make sure it isn't a basal cell although these usually look more like pink nodules and don't change much over short periods of time.

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Brief Answer:
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Detailed Answer:
Yes, give it a day or two. In the meantime, zinc oxide is perfectly safe to use.

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