Are cold sores contagious at every stage?
Wondering how careful to be. Are cold sores contagious the whole time, including the tingle stage before anything shows and after it scabs over? Want to avoid passing HSV-1 to anyone.
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Community support, not medical advice. For a clinical read, use the Clinic.
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I stay careful until it has fully healed, not just scabbed.
They can be contagious from the first tingle, even before the blister appears.
Avoiding kissing and sharing anything during an outbreak is the main thing.