Hi! This is my first post here, and let me start by saying I have a very severe case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to the point of being on disability. My obsessions mainly center around health, so please take caution with whatever you reply as not to frighten me–I could obsess for months or even years.
I have two questions about cold sores. One, how likely is it to actually spread a cold sore from your lip to your eye? I’ve been obsessing over this so badly that I’m not getting good sleep at night. I usually sleep on my stomach, head and face rubbing all over the pillow, tossing and turning. But I’m afraid that if I let that happen I’ll infect my eye from the pillow. I also have been refusing to wear my hair down because it gets in my face and I don’t want it to spread it around my face. With OCD, this cold sore is maddening.
My other question is how long can the tingling last? Can it last throughout the entire cold sore? I’ve had two in a row. The first one I had was on the lower-right lip, took a week to heal, and the tingling stopped about two days in. This one seems much worse, is on the upper-left lip and is making my whole face tingle! And it hasn’t stopped.
For the record, I think I’m somewhere between the “weeping” and the “scabbing” stage. I seem to have one small blister at the top that hasn’t burst, but the rest is a crusty brown that’s starting to detach. I’m on day 3-4, and I’m using Abreva.
Thanks!