I'm having a fever blister outbreak - avoid baby?!

[KQCC4mama]

I read this online and am now worried. My outbreak is really really bad. Is my 5.5 month old doomed to now get this. I have not been avoiding kissing him on his head, face, etc. What to do?!

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Is he nursing? You might be ok if he is. But yes, now that you know you are having an outbreak, be EXTREMLY careful around your baby.

My 2 year old caught Herpes Simplex 1 from my mother who had one nasty cold sore right on the tip of her lip. I told her to be careful, but he also had a cold at the time, so his compormised immune system was to weak. It was NASTY! Swollen gums, he could hardly eat anything and whined everytime he tired. Had a hard time drinking except out of a regular cup too. I felt so bad for the little guy. And my mother felt AWFUL!

[luv-my-boys]

just be very diligent about not touching the area/face. Avoid kissing your child altogether and wash hands like crazy. Your child seems young but needless to say dont share utensils/cups/anything that might go into to mouth or be exposed to your saliva (plates) and wash all utensils/plates in HOT soapy water. although they should be safe I wouldnt share any towels with the rest of the family either *in case*

[KQCC4mama]

Yes, he's nursing only and not eating solids yet. I know I have not been as careful as I would have been had I known just how contagious it is! I soooo hope he does not catch it.

Just waiting to hear back from the naturopath on how to treat. Any other tips would be much appreciated!!

[Alisse]

Cold sores/fever blisters can't be stopped unless caught early. Otherwise, all "treatments" you get for it treat the symptoms only. You know to obviously be careful of touching baby with your lips, but you have to also be aware that you can have some virus in your saliva too.

Prevention of an outbreak is best. Instead of buying a prescription anti-viral (which are very expensive) get a tube of "abreva" which is an OTC anti-viral and carry it around with you, (i keep a small tube in my wallet at all times), and apply it as soon as you feel that tell-tale tingle of a blister coming on. Also be aware that you can also shed the virus into your saliva even between outbreaks of a sore.

The good news is that 3/4's of the population is already infected. The bad news is that the 1st infection for baby is pretty brutal as it involves flu-like symptoms and inner mouth sores.

[junipermuse]

I don't know that there's much you can do this time, except avoid kissing the baby, don't touch your mouth and wash your hands like crazy. But I think its a good idea to get a prescription for an oral anti-viral ahead of time. If you take it right at the first tingle you may be able to avoid getting a full blown cold sore altogether. This is what I did when I started to get a cold sore, the weekend after my ds was born. I do also use abreva as a topical. Also my midwife told me that putting vaseline on the entire infected area could help to stop the virus from shedding and therfore make it slightly less contagious.