I was just visually diagnosed with herpes. after two weeks of antivirals i took some left over clindamycin & i was better. could it be a misdiagnosis?

Impetigo: There could be two possibilities. You did have herpes, but it got a secondary staph infection known as impetigo that the Clindamycin took care of. Or you were misdiagnosed. Herpes is diagnosed by blood testing.

Herpes vs Staph: Yes, cold sores or herpes simplex can look a similar to impetigo or a staph infection around the mouth. The key difference is that herpes sores tend to be at the border of the lip and are clear where as impetigo typically looks crusty and brown and often does not involve the actual lip. Impetigo often is seen in the corner of the mouth or near the chin or nose rather than the lip.