Help please one very worried paranoid mummy coldsore and newborn

[Happylittlebee89]

Please can anyone give me some advice Im a very worried and panicked ! My worst fear as happened i delivered my baby 9 days ago and I woke up this morning with the biggest coldsore on my lip ! I have read all the horror story's on the Internet and I am passed myself with worry when I went to bed last night it wasn't there and I kissed the baby goodnight I obviously haven't kissed him today and I wash my hands everytime I touch him ! But I unfortunately am on my own with no partner so I haven't to do everything Im so scared the baby will get it and something will happen to him please could somebody out there offer me some reassurance or at least what to look out for incase I have passed it to the baby !!!

Thank You

Best thing to do is go to your gp, they can give you oral antivirals to try to get the cold sore to go away quicker and may also want to give your baby a course just in case, they can get advice from your local paeds ward to see what the policy is in your area. Obviously wash your hands and try not to touch the cold sore, those clear plaster things are great as they cover the sore and help to reduce viral shedding and also stop it from being so sore as they stop the drying out and cracking cycle that make the buggers hurt so much!

The typical neonatal herpes is usually caught as the baby is being born from genital herpes, rather than from cold sores after birth. This would tend to show up as baby getting sleepier and sleepier and taking less and less feed over the course of a few days. Herpes encephalitis shows up as funny behaviour for example seizures or being really sleepy and difficult to rouse. Both, although nasty, are very very rare whereas cold sores are very very common so it is really unlikely that your little one will have any problems at all. (In 5 yrs in children's intensive care I can think of 2 cases of neonatal herpes, also infection control don't stop me coming to work with cold sores despite me working with vulnerable babies every day, as, with good hand hygiene (and not kissing my patients!) the risk of transmission is low)

In your situation what I would do is give your gp (not your midwife as it won't be something they can prescribe) a call and ask if they would prescribe a course of oral acyclovir for you and possibly for baby too, use those clear plaster thingies, wash your hands lots and try not to worry too much as the chance of your baby getting sick is small x

I have begged them go give me the tablets go take but they say they can't give me them because Im breastfeeding Im seriously thinking of giving up on the breastfeeding so I can take the tablets because honestly I am a paranoid wreck I am convinced he's getting the virus it's making me ill and I already am poorly as they think I have some placenta left in me so I am very upset and tearful all I want to do is be the best for my baby and now I feel like everytime I touch him i risk making him poorly x

Lysine is great for speeding up cold sore recovery. Ask your dr if you can take it. It's not a drug, it's an amino acid - but still, it's a supplement.