[Mizelenius]

My mom has the Herpes B or whatever it is virus that you get cold sores from. My sister has it too-- I spent my whole life avoiding getting it. Anyway, my mom has a cold sore now. It's not an open sore, but it's there. DD USED MY MOM'S STRAW tonight. My mom NEVER uses straws-- why did she have to today? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/angry.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="angry"> Someone tell me SOMETHING about cold sores-- what are DD's chances of having contracted this virus? How soon would I know if she didn't get it?<br><br>
I'm just imagining the worst . . .if she gets it, touches her mouth, and then touches herself "down there" now she's got HERPES. (And she's only 2-- how will I prevent her from this?) Can you imagine? Moms won't let their kids play with her if she's got a sore because it's contagious . . .and when she's older, she'll have to tell her partner . . .blah, blah.<br><br>
On the plus side, my DH got a job today after 8 long months of unemployment. This herpes incident happened while we were out to eat at a celebration dinner. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/disappointed.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="disappointed">

 

[gurumama]

My Dh has cold sores. His nieces used his toothbrush one day when they were 4 and 5.<br><br>
The 4 year old got the cold sore. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"><br><br>
You'll know within 1-2 weeks if she got it.<br><br>
Your mom might want to try a cold sore cream called Abreva--it's fairly new, and DH swears by it. He claims it shortens the length of his cold sores.<br><br>
And yes, if she does get a cold sore, you must be careful about her touching her lip then genitals. DH does not have genital herpes, but I do--he had an asymptomatic cold sore at a time when we had oral sex, and gave me genital herpes. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> I'm NOT trying to scare you--just make sure you're informed.<br><br>
If your mom gets a LOT of cold sores, she might want to go on viral supprssion drugs, like Valtrex. She can ask her doctor for info.<br><br>
Best of luck, and I really, really hope your Fiona didn't get it. BTW, my Reilly is 7 weeks younger than Fiona!

 

[darkstar]

L-Lysine. I get a cold sore about 2 times a year, changing of the seasons and stress. I guess my mom gets them about 2x's a year too, which is probley where I caught the virus. I can feel them comming on. I double up on the L-Lysine and they are gone in no time. I wouldnt worry about it so much, I was never denied playing with friends becuase of cold sores.<br><br>
Congrats to the DH and his job.

 

[veganmamma]

I've been exposed to cold sores before (sharing drinks and um... other stuff.) from people who currently had big nasty ones and I guess I'm just lucky enough to never have gotten it. FTR, I washed my mouth out with soap almost immediately and I attribute it to that, mostly. Also, often times alcohol was involved and I think that killed it. My biggest exposure was a pepsi though- that's when I instituted the soap policy. :LOL Anyway, your dd's *probably* fine so sit back, relax and enjoy the bliss of dh having his job. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[OceanMomma]

I had one pop up out of the blue when I was 28. it comes back every now & then. I had tried everything to get rid of it & nothing worked until I tried sodium ascorbate. I had like heaps - easily 18g a day for 3 days - & it never came up after the itching started. It may be worth giving her some to bowel tolerance to see if you can get rid of it before it gets in properly.

 

[corysmilk]

when you feel the tingle of the sore coming on just put your finger in your ear, and put ther wax on the spot where the sore is coming it won't come out at all!!! I swear, My friend does this and it works for her.

 

[mamalisa]

I second Abbreva, it works great, but might be hard to deal with a 2 year old and a cream on her lips. I hope she doesn't get them, they stink. I've heard great things about L-Lysine but I don't get them often enough to bother (maybe one a year). Congrats on dh's job!

 

[Mizelenius]

Thank you SO much for the replies-- the information was fabulous! I guess I'll just sit out the next two weeks playing the "wait and see game."<br><br>
Lauren, do you think TTO would help? Maybe I'll dab some on just in case . . .<br><br>
Thanks again, mamas! (And thank you for the congrats, too! I must be really antsy about the job thing-- I just dreamt that DH lost the job before he got it!)

 

[tboroson]

Ok, first thing. According to Debbi Donovan, lactation consultant at parentsplace.com,<br><br>
"In correspondence with Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC, I found that for the Herpes Simplex Virus, Type l 'nearly 95 percent of adults test positive (worldwide it's 90 percent).'"<br><br>
This says two things to me: almost all the people who are terrified of this virus already have it and don't know it; and, it just ain't all that awful. There are far more useful things to freak out about.<br><br>
Mizelenius, if your mother has it, you probably do, too, it's just never manifested in you. Same deal for your daughter. If she doesn't have it yet, her chances of *not* developing it sometimes in her life are pretty slim. However, this doesn't mean that either you or she will ever *get* cold sores - apparantly only about half the population is susceptible to them, and even at that, many folks only get them very rarely. I've spoken to many people who've gotten only one or two in their entire lives, and were really confused because they had no idea what they were about.<br><br>
Genital herpes (HPV II) and herpes simplex (HPV I) are two different viruses. Yes, technically you can get HPV I on your genitals, but it seems to be very rare. One friend who *did* get one on her genitals from oral sex was told by her doctor that while the virus won't go away after that, it's not likely to become chronic.<br><br>
I've been getting cold sores my whole life, and have never ever had one on my genitals - and I'm not even remotely careful about washing up before wiping myself on the toilet or having sex or anything like that. Same with everyone else I know who gets them. I've also never apparantly transmitted them, on lips or genitals, to my husband or any previous boyfriend. Similarly, my mother never transmitted it to my father, and they've been smooching for 31 years now. My brother and I get them, but my sister does not. Chances are, all those people already have the virus, and had them before ever being exposed by me or my Mom, but they're not susceptible to it. Furthermore, it is obviously transmittable, but not very easily. It can be transmitted at any time, not only when there is an active cold sore.<br><br>
As for prevention, L-Lysine works wonders. I've been using it for years, and never get a cold sore as long as I keep up with it (i.e. remember to buy a new bottle when the old one runs out!) It doesn't seem to do much for an active cold sore, but is great at preventing them. I read an article years ago about how it worked, passed the magazine on to my Mom, and it disappeared... I wish I still had that. But, apparantly it has to do with the balance of the amino acids l-lysine and l-arginine. You can either supplement with l-lysine, or avoid all major sources of l-arginine - including popcorn and chocolate (not likely <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"> )<br><br>
For healing, nothing but nothing works as well as Abreva. I didn't believe my brother when he told me that a while ago, because he tends to buy into any marketing... but I finally tried it and it's amazing. My last cold sore never reached the oozy stage and healed in about four days. I was thrilled.

 

[veganmamma]

I don't see how TTO would hurt. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/hug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="hug">