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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Major panic over cold sore

28 replies

Myusername101z · 13/12/2018 16:26

So I’ve suffered with them for years and years but not had one in about two years until yesterday. I am being very careful as usual washing hands not sharing cups etc but I am absolutely petrified I am going to pass it on to my baby I am obviously not kissing him etc but I am in abit of a panic , I really don’t want him to catch the virus off me as I know how miserable it is. Has anyone got the virus but managed to never pass it on to dc ?

OP posts:
Bambamber · 13/12/2018 16:29

Yes I've had a cold sore and not passed it on. I used the compeed patches to keep it covered just for extra security. But as long your not kissing your baby, touching the sore and washing your hands, you'll be fine

RayRayBidet · 13/12/2018 16:29

I get them occasionally, they make my whole lip swell up and then turn into a big weeping mess (sorry tmi).
Anyway my eldest is 11 and doesn't have them. Also never passed them on to my DH and we have been married 14 years.

redannie118 · 13/12/2018 16:34

This reply has been withdrawn

The OP has privacy concerns, and so we've agreed to take this down now.

Original poster
Myusername101z · 13/12/2018 16:37

Thanks so much for your replies it has put me at each just ordered patches on amazon prime ,currently slavered in Zovirax !

OP posts:
Sethos · 13/12/2018 16:37

How old is your baby?

Original poster
Myusername101z · 13/12/2018 16:39

@sethos one next week

OP posts:
Dairyqueen2 · 13/12/2018 16:45

I've had them all my life and my 2 teenagers and partner of 27 years have never caught them. Just be supercareful when it's at the weeping stage. Use your own towel etc

dementedpixie · 13/12/2018 16:48

Dh gets them but I have never had one and neither have our 2 children

Fridaydreamer · 13/12/2018 16:49

Pro tip. Blistex Intense Moisturiser, if applied generously as soon as you feel the tingle, can stop a cold sore from erupting. Used it for years. Better than Zovirax at stopping them early.

ChristmasFairy2018 · 13/12/2018 16:49

I now buy tablets of acyclovir on line and take one as soon as I feel the dreaded tingle. Stops the cold sores in their tracks.

LucieMorningstar · 13/12/2018 16:50

I’ve had cold sores forever. Had them numerous times when my babies were infants and not one has ever had a cold sore themselves. I was just careful and logical when I had one so as not to risk them catching one.

EverardDigby · 13/12/2018 16:59

My DD has never got mine either and she's 15 now.

Sethos · 13/12/2018 17:13

Myuser it's only dangerous in very young babies, and as long as you take precautions (exactly what you've listed - no kissing, wash your cups straight after, use a separate towel etc) there's nothing to worry about.

My mum has always had cold sores and she never passed them on to me or my sibling.

Sethos · 13/12/2018 17:15

The amino acid Lysine can be bought as a supplement - keep some in and take at the first tingling/throughout having one. It inhibits the replication of the virus.

EverardDigby · 13/12/2018 18:12

Although I did get mine from my DM I think, which is why I'm very careful.

Original poster
Myusername101z · 13/12/2018 18:47

Thanks all x

OP posts:
Minta85 · 13/12/2018 19:04

OP ask your GP to prescribe Acyclovir. It’s fantastic - you take it as soon as you feel a cold sore brewing, and it stops it from developing and gets rid of it really fast.

YetAnotherThing · 13/12/2018 19:18

I’m a sufferer too but like others not my husband or child either. However, I think it’s more to do with how their immune systems handle the virus rather than them not being exposed (although am super careful). Apparently 90% adults have been exposed to the virus (will have antibody) and most will only get a cold sore if their immune system is suppressed (on steroids, chemo etc) but it’s is regular sufferers who get them regularly. I think we have the duff immune systems and theirs more robust!

EverardDigby · 13/12/2018 20:14

I have wondered whether DD is somehow immune. I rarely get anything else though even when others are ill, so my immune system in general is good. Mine do come on when stressed or in strong sunlight if I don't wear lip salve.

Original poster
Myusername101z · 13/12/2018 20:15

@minta85 how does that work ? Will gp presribe medication to take as soon as I feel the next one coming or is it a daily thing ? Thanks

OP posts:
SoyDora · 13/12/2018 20:16

I get them when I’m ill/run down. DC are 5 and 3 and have never had one.
When DD2 was a few months old I was absolutely covered. I was so exhausted and run down, I must have had around 8 and it took me weeks to get rid of them. She never caught them.

Butteredghost · 13/12/2018 20:52

Agree with PP, all the children described above will have definitely been exposed to the virus, however they were able to fight it and are now immune. I try to think about this when I worry that my son will get cold sores. The fact is, no matter how careful I am, he will be exposed, like over 90% of all humans.

Cold sores aren't just contagious at the weeping stage, they shed for days before any sore is apparent. So unless I'm going to leave the family permanently, there is literally nothing to be done.

Skyecat · 13/12/2018 21:45

Herpes simplex is passed through skin to skin contact and most contagious during an outbreak. It can also be caught through asymptomatic shedding, which will occur just before an outbreak but also for a small number of days per annum.

Estimates vary, but it is thought that only 1 in 5 people know they have it. Some of your family could already have it. You could avoid kissing altogether and use protection during sex with your dh to avoid oral to genital transmission but no method is 100% safe so better to just use your judgement and carry on with life.

6 in 10 people carry hsv1, which is responsible for most oral coldsore infections.

Some of the info on this thread is wrong. To find out the facts about cold sores, get in touch with the herpes viruses association.

Raffles1981 · 13/12/2018 21:56

My gp prescribed me Aciclovir, they are tablets that dry the coldsore out from the inside. Might be worth asking your GP. But I did get one two days after having my son, left my pills at home, so just washes hands, stopped myself kissing my son and just kept him away from my face. Try not to panic, just make sure you are clean and you and baby will be fine x

Minta85 · 13/12/2018 21:58

Hi again OP, sorry I don’t know how to tag usernames, I just take Acyclovir when I feel a cold sore coming on. I have it on repeat prescription and make sure I always have a stock in just in case.