Help! I gave my baby herpes!

amother

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 1:35 am

This is the second child I have unwittingly infected with herpes! embarrassed

I know many of you will curse me and want to report me, but I did not have a tingling sensation on my mouth and must have kissed the baby before I knew I was getting a cold sore. Now he has a cold sore on his lip, and I don't know what to put on it. I am too ashamed to go to a doctor embarrassed

and know that at Tipat Chalav they will just yell at me Crying

I know it is just oral herpes, but I feel like such a pariah, like a horrible person, and I am sure I will get told this so I don't expect any hugs. For sure I will forbid my sons from EVER becoming mohelim!

healthymama

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 1:39 am

Please. Get over it. Completely not a big deal. I would literally not spend any time thinking about this.

50-90% of the population has had oral herpes, depending on which statistic you read. Your kid would have gotten it from sharing a snack at school.

As for treatment, just go to your drug store and ask for the over the counter medicine for a cold sore. It is called Abreva or something like that in America.

mali

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 1:42 am

Try Zovirax or CyclomeD. They're more effective if you use them right when you start feeling the tingle (I've never had it BH, but my son told me he feels his mustache growing in. He was 4 or 5 then) but they help even once the sore appears. Refuah Sheleima, and don't blame yourself. Guilt hasn't gotten anyone anywhere.

amother

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 1:48 am

Thanks I'll see what I can find here in E.Y. I once used Zovirax but I heard that it might cause liver problems. DH is very upset. He said "you've infected my sons for life!!!" Thanks for the reassurance, but things are tense at home. Crying

mali

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 1:54 am

amother wrote:

DH is very upset. He said "you've infected my sons for life!!!"

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Our pediatrician told us that all kids contract it here at an early stage in life.

healthymama

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 2:06 am

Quote:

DH is very upset. He said "you've infected my sons for life!!!"

Tell him to look up some medical websites or something. Everyone has oral herpes. It makes your life no different. Your husband probably has oral herpes and could just as easily have given the infection to your kids.

Give me a break. This is so ridiculous, as if I would complain that my husband gave my son a cold or a cough.

They can certainly be mohelim, just not when they have an open sore.

chen

Wed, Apr 18 2007, 2:36 pm

Oh, please, I thought you were talking about genital herpes, which is a whole nother story and something to get upset about. (Not hysterical, just upset.) Oral herpes is a nuisance ailment, unsightly and uncomfortable in the active stage but hardly a reason for gloom and doom. ( It didn't ruin your life, did it? You managed to finish school, get married, have normal children and everything?)

If they hadn't caught it from you they would have caught it from someone else sooner or later. For that matter, they may in fact have caught it from someone else--maybe even their father! Surely you're not the only person who ever kissed your children?

It sounds to me as if you are internalizing dh's accusations. (He is the drama queen, isn't he? "Infected my sons for life", indeed!) Send him my way and I'll give him what-for. It's not your fault, their lives are not wrecked, and you have nothing to be ashamed of or to apologize for. Got it?

Now get off your duff and take the baby to the clinic or ask the pharmacist for an effective remedy. (Tea tree oil or lavender oil are both supposed to help soothe and heal, but they're not quick fixes.)

amother

Sun, Oct 07 2007, 8:06 pm

Wow...I think I have oral herpes too...is it only contagious when I feel something in my mouth? How do you get this? My 3 year old has it also...I think I gave it to her too because she got it right after I had it. embarrassed

She got the same bumps on her tongue and I also felt sick after it. I just avoided giving her sour things but I felt so terrible about it, every day I would ask her if it was feeling better and she said no Sad

For me I find that using a nice strong mouthwash helps a lot.

greenfire

Sun, Oct 07 2007, 8:21 pm

so I too thought this was genital herpes shock

as for cold sores ... you kiss your dh and he kisses the kids - now he is guilty Twisted Evil

campho-phenique ointment is good for this - it's not a big deal ...

hope everyone feels better !!!

chavamom

Sun, Oct 07 2007, 9:39 pm

amother wrote:

Your dh needs to get a grip (sorry to be so blunt). Over 90% of adults are "infected for life" with oral herpes, so your children will be in good company.

mimivan

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 10:01 am

Yes, but I am not sure if one can be spread to the other through "normal" contact...

I did hear that if, for instance, a person did not wash their hands after touching a cold sore there was a slight possibility of spreading it to another area through touch, but another person told me this is bubbameises

mommyX2

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 11:28 pm

are all cold sores caused by herpes?

so weird to see a thread on this after my dh just got a huge cold sore on his lip and we looked on the internet and decided it is prob oral herpes. should he not be kissing me when he has it? or sharing food/drink?

will I for sure get it if we've been kissing while he has it???

(I've had cold sores inside my mouth before...but never on my lips...are both the same thing?)

mommyX2

Tue, Oct 09 2007, 12:12 am

chavamom wrote:

You are most likely immune from prior exposure, so avoiding kissing him won't do much for either one of you.

well shouldn't he have been immune to it himself? ...since this is not the first time he's had a cold sore? l

also should he refrain from kissing the kids?

chavamom

Tue, Oct 09 2007, 1:01 am

I think you misunderstand how HSV works. It's one of those viruses that once you catch it, lives forever in your body, but generally speaking your immune system keeps it "in check". When someone has an outbreak after an initial infection (a "primary outbreak"), it is b/c for one reason or another (and why this happens often to some people and never to others is poorly understood) the virus has bypassed teh immune system and been "reactivated" in the form of a "cold sore". So you won't catch it from him if you are already infected and it won't cause you to have an outbreak either since your body is already doing it's job of keeping the virus in check.