I get them. If it is one, you will know by the 2nd day... as it starts to have the look of a wet blister by the 2nd day and in 3-4 days time it will start to scab and look pretty ugly. They last 7 - 10 days
They are right what they say about coldsores:
- normally picked up when you are young through Aunties and Uncles kissing you, but you can get them as an adult if you come into direct contact with one, particular if it is that person's first one.
- no oral sex allowed
- no kissing allowed
- don't let anyone drink from same cup or use same towel (although some websites dispute this saying that the virus doesn't survive long enough outside the body)
- even if coldsore is not on lips (could be on nose or surrounding skin) still can't have oral sex as virus is in your saliva.
the virus can remain hidden in your system for years without showing itself, so you could have had it since you were little. It hides in a nerve junction and travels to the surface of the skin when something activates it. Once it shows up you may only ever have one, or they can be recurring usually caused by stress, tiredness, period (if you're a girl) and when your immune system is low (when you feel run down), and by the sun (use sunblock)
Here's the important bit. If this is your first coldsore, it's highly contagious. It will shed the virus continuously, so wash your hands before handling your... erm... bits! ie. when you go to the loo.
Once your coldsore is clear, the next time you get one it cannot be transferred to any other part of your body because your body will have built up an immune system. Likewise you won't be able to catch anyone else's (although weirdly i only have to see one and mine gets activated, i think it's psychological) as long as their coldsore is the same symplex. Herpes symplex 1 is generally coldsores on the face and skin, Herpes symplex 2 is the coldsore you get on your naughty bits. But each symplex can appear anywhere on the body.
The virus can also mutate. so if you have Herpes Symplex 1 on your lips and you give someone oral sex, they can get a coldsore down there (symplex 1) or Herpes (symplex 2) BUT if they catch a coldsore from you (symplex 1) and then give you oral sex, you cannot get a coldsore (symplex 1) or herpes (symplex 2) from it because you've already got an immunity (this is if it's your 2nd coldsore NOT your first one. If it's your first one it's still contagious to you "down there")
i think what i've written is correct but there are a couple of websites that dispute what other say. the best reference on the internet is the British Coldsore Society (i think that's what they are called). just google "coldsore" and it will come up
complex init? personally i think they should have called it Herpes Complex 1 and 2. Best thing to do is abstain from sexy time until it clears up and make sure you wash your hands before going to the toilet. and don't pick it because you can get them under your fingernails too!
as for creams such as Zovirax, don't bother. technically, they can stop a coldsore appearing but what happens, in reality, is that it just delays it until 2 weeks later and comes back just when you've got a hot date or very important social event! and when i say comes back... i mean comes back with a vengeance. So if you haven't got any important social commitments when you feel the tingle, just let it run its course and then you won't see it again for a year or so.
if your little cluster of white spots has gone in a couple of days, it wasn't a coldsore. they last 7 days at least.
(but i was REALLY tired lol). She said her and her daughter use it and they never get one. but they HUGE tablets! 
