Hi,

I hope this is the appropriate group to post this in. I tried my best
to look for an appropriate topic and this is the closest I could come
up with.

Around this time last year, the area around my mouth --- specifically,
between underneath my lower lip and above my chin --- got really red.
My skin felt hot, itchy, and generally just irritable. This went on
for about a week before I finally went to the student health center on
my campus, and I was told that I had "non-sexual herpes", or in other
words, a cold sore. The guy gave me some kind of skin cream, although
I don't think that helped much because the cold sore/rash/whatever it
was sorta just went away on it's own after a while.

Well, as if on schedule, I think the sore is coming back. I'm not sure
if this is necessarily a yearly thing though, but it was this time
last year that this happened. (The guy at the health center also said
that it could be stress-related.) Also, I've started a new regiment
with my face. Before, I just used to haphazardly clean it with soap
every now and then. (Must be a guy thing...LOL.) But now, I've started
using St. Ives exfoliating cleansing cloths, astringent, and a
moisturizing lotion. And I can't help but think that this might have
led to the return of my cold sore?

My question is, is the sore curable, or will it just keep popping up
like this? Also, what kind of medication (if any) should I get for it?
I have since graduated college, so I can't go to the health center
anymore. I'm hoping there's something I can get over-the-counter at
Walgreens or Safeway, at least.

Thanks in advance.