Cold Sore?

lmhock

I just realized this evening that I have a small cold sore on my lip. I only get a couple a year and I can normally I feel them coming on, but this one just appeared in the last couple of hours. I am freaking out that I may have passed the virus on to LO since I didn't know it was coming and have been kissing him all day. Has anyone had any experience with this? I can't call the pediatrician until tomorrow morning.

I am reading online about how the herpes virus can cause major problems or death in infants and I'm making myself sick with worry. I'm breastfeeding, so I don't even know what I can take to treat it. I feel like the worst mother in the world right now.

Carilyn

I don't really have any advice for you, but QUIT googling!!!  Try to relax and just call your doc in the morning and see what they recommend and what you can take for it with bfing. 

JMB2007

Relax. Avoid kissing baby from here on out, until your cold sore has healed.  Use Abreva to help clear it up faster.  You can safely take valaciclovir when breastfeeding.  But you will need to call your dr. to get a RX of it. 

lmhock

Carilyn:

I don't really have any advice for you, but QUIT googling!!!  Try to relax and just call your doc in the morning and see what they recommend and what you can take for it with bfing. 

Ugh, I know. Dr. Google is not my friend. Had I known it would say that about infants, I wouldn't have done it. I just wasn't expecting that.

I'm trying to relax but it's much easier said than done.....

happyhoopla

As far as the scary infant complications, that is when a mom has genital herpes and delivers vaginally. Your little guy should be ok. However, the virus you have (and I do, too) is easily passed, so definitely avoid kissing your little guy until it clears. I had my OB give me a script for Valtrex/Acyclovir that I take daily to prevent outbreaks. I've been getting cold sores since I was a kid and I'm pretty sure that I contracted it from my mom, so I want to do everything I could to avoid passing it to my LO.