Scarleteen

All right bro, so I like got a cold sore a while ago and I’m like, real worried about auto inoculation because I heard that could happen? I read it was uncommon but like, did not assuage my concern dude. Like, if I wash my face in the shower, is it gonna carry through the water? What gives? I keep trying to stop worrying about it, and it has not worked

Hi Jon White,

From what I can find, auto-inoculation requires a few things: first, you have to touch an open cold sore. Then, you have to not wash your hands and touch a body part like your genitals or your eyes. So something like water can't act as a means of transfer in the way you're worried about.