My niece has warts, should I stop her from touching my baby?

[VikingEmma]

My 8 year old niece has warts on her fingers and now in and around her nostrils from picking her nose! My DS is only 6 weeks old and I'm concerned that shes going to infect him. We're going to stay with my parents and my niece will also be there which means she'll be touching a lot of stuff that I will also touch, putting me at risk and in turn my DS. Not to mention her touching him!

Would it be unreasonable of me to stop her from touching him? And how do I go about telling her or my sister without causing offence?

Warts are harmless, don't stress about them too much.
NHS info

They may be harmless, but they are very unsightly and not something I would recommend to have on a 6-week baby, with his immune system still immature. Remember warts are generated by the papilloma virus (HPV).

I personally would recommend you not to let your niece touch the baby OP. They are VERY contagious.

I agree with aurynne

Warts really are harmless, but I agree that they're unsightly. They're also not nearly as contagious as people think, otherwise we'd all have them from going on the tube and going round the supermarket!

Don't worry about her touching things that you then touch, but I would probably not let her touch the baby - maybe say that his immune system is too immature at the moment to cope with the virus, but that when he's bigger (i.e. 6 months) it shouldn't be a problem.

Ok, thank you, I feel a little more at ease. The biggest problem now will be trying not to offend my sister, who will, no doubt, think I'm completely overreacting and be outraged at the no touching the baby suggestion!

How about if she wears gloves so she can have a cuddle then?

Couldn't you say you mentioned it to your doctor at 6 week check. And that the advise was to avoid.

Gloves sound like a good compromise, as long as she doesn't kiss the baby (if she's got warts around her nose). Poor kid, it's not going to be nice for her, but you don't want to expose your baby to a virus at 6 weeks old.

Wow - i've learned something today. I thought wart weren't contagious. Quick google found this on Kids Health website:

More common in kids than in adults, warts are skin infections caused by viruses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. They can affect any area of the body, but tend to invade warm, moist places, like small cuts or scratches on the fingers, hands, and feet. Warts are usually painless unless they're on the soles of the feet or another part of the body that gets bumped or touched all the time.

Kids can pick up HPV ? and get warts ? from touching anything someone with a wart has used, like towels and surfaces. Kids who bite their fingernails or pick at hangnails tend to get warts more often than kids who don't because they can expose less-protected skin and create open areas for a virus to enter and cause the wart.

You'll have to be very diplomatic with your sister OP. Good luck :)

Yanbu, Maybe ask your sister to put plasters round her warts??

She will be BU if she has a go at you, your only looking out for your baby's health!

Tricky one!!!!! I feel sorry for the poor child :( warts around her nose. How old is she?

My DS had 3 on his fingers. There are 10 of us in the house altogether and I am amazed than noone else caught the virus!! He had them about 3-4 years and one day they all started disappearing!!

I really wouldn't know what to do about this situation. Maybe get some medical info? Chemist?

idobelieve i was thinking the same. My DD3 had one on her finger a couple of years ago for a few weeks. We used the freezy stuff in the end and it went away. No one else in the family got a wart. And we weren't careful about towels etc.

I'd be twitchy about a new baby though.

Yes, i feel sorry for the young niece too.

I'm 30 and have had them on my hands all my life. Nothing gets rid of them and I fucking hate them. Some days I cry about them. My DH of 13 years partnership has never caught them and DS (2) hasn't either but it's your baby so your decision.

Some people's immune system can fight them, while other people's take longer, and a minority of people never get rid of them. That is why I wouldn't risk it with your baby, OP.

I had them all over my fingers in my late teens! They spread from where my fingers touched each other - I had them all frozen off.
I've never passed them on to anyone else though...I'm sure she will understand? She might even tell her DD first not to touch the baby? I probably would!

Your baby is more important than other peoples feelings, be as diplomatic as you can but if her mother gets upset that's not your problem. No rational person would want to infect a baby with anything, no rational person would consider themselves or their children entitled to infect a baby with a virus, there should be no issue. If there is, tell your sister that she can expose her children to whatever she wants but you will protect your newborns health.

Not unreasonable at ALL.

Everyone knows that your niece is a witch.

I have heard that boiling her in the urine of a badger should do the trick.

hth