Facial lesions & nasal sores before diagnosis?

Hello - really nice to find this community, i've been trying to find out more information concerning this disease and there is very little out there..

my big question for those who have herpes simplex hsv-1 encephalitis is did you exhibit any typical facial 'cold sore' symptoms before getting full blown encephalitis? like a regular mouth cold sore or lesions on the face, or in your nose?

the reason i ask is 3 years ago i acquired hsv-1 from a kiss on the cheek from a friend with an infected lip.. a few days later my face exploded into a huge lesion all over my cheek, horrible weepy gross.. it spread into three spots across my face, scared me pretty bad, and then went away after about a month or so, the red discoloration is still there to this day.. the next time it happened a few months later i desperately went to the dermatologist, they thought it was bacterial.. tried every cream until we tried zovirax cream (aciclovir) and poof, two days later it was gone. bad news is, i contracted herpes.. and it kept coming back, 1 month later, huge sores.. worst places possible right on my cheek, chin, face.. the zovirax was a miracle, i can tell right before they're about to break out again and i put the cream on and poof no re-occurrence..

then about a year and a half ago i noticed something new.. it was in my nose. then i got scared.. i ignored it.. it happened 3 or 4 times (zovirax says not to use it on the mucus membranes.. so i didn't) and then i was watching discovery channel and they had a show on people with severe memory loss.. HSV-1 Encephalitis, "brain herpes".. and i freaked out.. and went online.. and discovered it reaches your brain through your olfactory nerve.. nose.. hsv-1.. brain.. encephalitis..

so now i basically feel like a ticking time bomb and i can't find any info if these things present before hand, like is there something i can do to prevent encephalitis? taking valtrex if i get the flu? or just being hyperaware of any headaches?

what triggers my facial outbreaks is if i use any kind of harsh face creams or scrubs (pro-activ is especially horrible for me) or if i damage the skin in any way, it attacks.. so i'm afraid if i ever get ill with the flu or anything it will weaken me.. it's already in my olfactory area.. and would then attack my brain..

well i'm glad to see so many survivors who have done so well, makes me feel a lot better about the medical care available, i'm glad you all are here to share and educate!

thanks,
emmie