To be concerned about cold sore & new born?

[Trickedia]

My daughter (2) has what I think, is a cold sore. She’s never had one before & I'm not 100% that’s what it is but it seems likely by its appearance. Problem is, I also have a 7 week old daughter. I called the doctors today to ask if a GP could phone me but was told they don’t do phone appointments anymore & I would need to bring my daughter down. Seems a waste of an appointment for a cold sore, but am I putting my 7 week old at risk? What could actually be done, I obviously can’t keep them apart until it’s healed. Any advice from someone who knows more than I do would be appreciated!

You can buy the patches to cover the sore, make sure they don't share flannels etc and that she doesn't kiss the baby.

Get to boots (or send someone) get some Zovirax and you can often get little cold sore plasters that aid healing and prevent contamination.

Make sure Dd washes her hands regularly and stock up on calpol, if you aren’t familiar with them yourself they can really make your mouth hurt and young children often get flu like symptoms with them the first time.

It's not a waste of an appointment because it could be really serious if you newborn catches the virus. So it's definitely worth finding out for sure what it is and also get the doctors advice on how to deal with it.

Can you get her to a chemist for a pharmacist to have a look and confirm if it's a cold sore? Not BU to be worried about it with a newborn

The virus can be deadly in a newborn, it's definitely worth seeing a GP and you must keep your DD from touching the baby until it has healed. However it might not be a cold sore, there are things that look like it, such as impetigo.

Thanks all, will pop into the pharmacy tomorrow (don’t know why I didn’t think of that!) if it is a cold sore I will buy the plasters & treatment and then live in anxiety until it’s gone!!

Sorry OP don't mean to hijack your thread but I searched and found this recent one.

I've got a cold sore (boo! Not had one in 6 years!) and I've got a 5 month old. I'm obviously washing my hands etc after touching it and I'm using the compeed plaster things to minimise any possible contamination anyway. But obviously I'm still having to change my baby's nappy, make up his bottles, feed him his bottles, carry him round all day etc.

Is it only deadly in really little babies? I'm so worried that he's caught it, or maybe he could've caught it before the cold sore actually appeared as I didn't really get the warning "tingle" so it was a complete (horrible) surprise.

@Confusedandworried321 the NHS website says babies around 4 weeks are most vulnerable so I would have thought it would be less dangerous by 5 months. Asking a HCP is best if you need professional reassurance.

Thank you Bobbiepin may ring the GPtoday.

Confusedandworried321 I know someone who got cold sores with a baby - don’t kiss them and keep hand washing and you should be fine. That baby is now nearly 5 and never caught one

I'd want to see a gp to get it diagnosed so you know for sure.

@Confusedandworried321
I recently had a cold sore and have a two year old, and was terrified of passing it on to him. I used compeed plasters on the cold sore and disposable gloves for nappy changes. I didn't pass it on thankfully. Hope yours heals soon OP.