If a girl gets cold sores, but she uses carmex, can you get them from her?

Question

I kissed a girl that had on a lot of carmex. I was told by her friend 2 hous later that the girl that kissed me gets cold sores. I was told that carmex helps to prevent the passing of hsv-1. There were no signs of lesions on her lips or around her mouth. I've never had cold sores and I've tested negative for hsv-1/hsv-2. My lips were dry which is why I'm scared because I heard that hsv-1 can be passed on through a crack in dry skin and through "asymptomatic shedding", which is when it appears there's no signs of an outbreak. What are my chances of contracting hsv-1? And should I be worried? Any pre-treatments to prevent it?

Answer 1

Viral shedding occurs less if the person has had HSV-1 for a while.

You do still have a small chance of being infected. You will have to wait 2 to 12 days to know if you have been infected.

In the meantime use The Secret. Tell your body that you are strong against any infection. Believe it. The body listens to you and can respond. Scientific studies have proven that the mind can actually increase immune cells.

And bear in mind that couples can live together for a lifetime without one spreading the infection to the other. Maybe your risk really is very small.

Answer 2

You may have picked up the virus, or you may not.  I have been getting cold sores since I was a child, and my husband did not ever get them, and we were never careful about not kissing when I had a cold sore.  That was probably silly, but we did not worry about it.  I don't think you need to be worried.  As someone who has probalby had hundreds of cold sores over the past 55 years, I can say that they are not the end of the world.

Many of us already have the cold sore virus dormant in our bodies, and never have a flare up of cold sores.  We contracted it as children, as it is a very common virus, and children pick it up easily as they often share food and drinks, and may be less concerned about hand washing and hygiene.   Cold sores can be transmitted even when the person does not have a cold sore, though it is less likely to happen then.  

There is no over-the-counter medication or home remedy that cures cold sores.  Only time will take care of that.  But there is a good prescription medication for cold sores.  It will make them go away much faster, and as a result of taking this medication you will have far fewer outbreaks of cold sores.

The absolute best treatment for cold sores is a prescription medication in pill form called Valtrex.  It was intended for genital herpes, but cold sores are caused by the same family of viruses, and Valtrex stops colds sores in their tracks.  None of the other treatments come close to the effectiveness of Valtrex, not the ointment Zovirax, and certainly not Abreva or anything else.  Ask your doctor about it to see if you would be a good candidate for this medication.  My doctor prescribed it for me for cold sores about five years ago and after taking it only a couple of times I hardly ever get a cold sore any more, and before Valtrex I was having several attacks a year.  On the rare occasions that I do get one now, it is gone almost immediately when I take the medication - in about a day.    In the meantime, here are a couple of informative links.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-t...

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/ach...