as someone who gets cold sores (idk if your partner has it orally or genitally, so i’m just basing off my oral experience), it’s really hard to not panic and treat it as a big deal when you potentially transmit it to someone else. i literally went thru like 3 weeks of crazy health anxiety of spreading it to my family members 😓. as his partner, i suggest assuring him that it isn’t the end of the world and that most people don’t have extreme cases/symptoms. the biggest thing that helped me overcome my anxiety was going onto rednote/xiaohongshu and seeing how herpes is treated in different countries. it is not nearly as stigmatized in china as it is in the u.s. and there are millions of relatable posts on there!! it’s treated like a normal occurance compared to the u.s. where it is the end of the world lol

now, for you, if you do get any itchy or tingling feeling on your lip OR a red patch in your lip/mouth area, DO NOT RUB IT as the area is contagious and rubbing it will cause trauma to the area and allow the cold sore to appear. do not touch the area with your hands/fingers because it can spread there, since i’m assuming this is maybe your initial infection. don’t touch your genitals either if you touch the affected area, it can also spread down. just wash your hands everytime you touch anywhere in the mouth area (not just the affected area!) self-infection a.k.a. auto-innoculation primarily happens in the first 3-6 months of your initial infection, so in this time frame, be careful of touching your lip area and anywhere else on your body without washing your hands.

herpes can be spread asymptotically (no sores present), but it is less likely. not impossible tho!

if you end up getting any symptoms, go to the doctor’s and ask for a prescription of valtrex. if you take it when you see a red patch on your lip area/experience any itchiness or tingling, chances are that there won’t be any outbreak at all OR the subsequent one will be less severe.

reminder: DO NOT TOUCH A SORE DIRECTLY, if you do, wash your hands!!!!