Kind of embarassing... But important

maganh91 · February 2013

So my husband gets cold sores... That's the herpes... He's had it since childhood and all of his siblings have it, I'm assuming that they got it from his parents, but I haven't asked. The past 6 years we have been REALLY careful about not kissing or really even touching when he has a cold sore though I know it's not full proof. But our DD is 3 months old and I'm TERRIFIED that she will some how get it from him accidentally. When he has a cold sore I make him wash his hand constantly and he has very little physical contact with her until the outbreak is gone. But I'm still really worried about it bc I can't run after him washing everything that he touches. I'm not gonna lie.... I've thought about making him wear a mask. He went to the doctor and asked about that medicine that lessens the frequency of outbreaks, but he's in the military and they wouldn't give it to him. What can I do? What is the chance that either of us will catch it? I would die if she had to live with that for the rest of her life because we weren't careful enough

linnae939 · February 2013

we don't have a kid yet, BUT I FEEL THE SAME EXACT WAY! he doesnt even think of kissing me if he has one. I am worried about it too! I would say, stay away from sharing food, lip balm, drinks etc. those are the things that carry it the most. as long as he isnt putting her stuff in his mouth, or touching his mouth then her stuff, that should be enough. (as we know, babies don't care they put EVERYTHING in their mouths). He has to be good about not touching his mouth, and washing his hands often, then everyone in the family should be fine. (even if he kisses her cheek, the chance of her getting it is veeeerrrry small)

interzone · February 2013

Truthfully, you probably already have it and your daughter possibly does as well. He can shed the virus without any cold sores present. Epidemiologists estimate that nearly 60% of the US population has the virus, and less than 50% of those people ever have a single outbreak. You can have your doctor do a blood test to check both you and your daughter for HSV-1 (cold sore Herpes) but I bet both of you test positive.

BozLady · February 2013

i dont think you should be embarassed at all.my husband gets them,and has forever. It is usually in the winter or when he gets sick. it is an immune system thing...he has started taking L-lysine and Vit.C (each like $10 at walkmart) and the outbreaks have gotten soooooo much better. I used to feel so bad for him when he would get them,now he gets them once in a while...but it is actually kind of remarkable how much the extent of the breakouts have changed.also,he would use abreva on it when it did happen

PayolaCrayola · February 2013

My DH gets them too. He also has had them most all his life and got them from his mom. I am super paranoid about DD getting them. Tbh I got one just after we started dating because we kissed a lot and he got one after 2 days and by then it was too late. However we have been married 4yrs now and I have only ever gotten one other tiny one when I was super sick. I still make him wash his hands and not let DD even touch near his face when he gets them though. It pisses me off that his mom passed it to him though. When I asked her once she acted like whatever and said her parents gave it to her. Like it was something to be proud of.

SvedkaStoli · February 2013

From a lurker: I second the Lysine advice. Last year (winter '12) I had probably 10 episodes which is really bad. Last year I started taking Lysine regularly and I had only one cold sore this winter.

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Kind of embarassing... But important

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