Herpes on hand, aaargh!

[DorotheaPlenticlew]

DS is just getting over his primary herpes infection. I now have the first outbreak of my life ... on the back of my hand -- which meant it took ages for it to be diagnosed, as doc initially was very dismissive (think he thought it was just a little pimple or something, he hardly looked at it).

So, I have three little clusters of sores and I think another one is appearing. Doc recommended doing nothing and letting it just play out but it is SO impractical having it on my hand and trying to look after DS and keep from re-infecting him! Not to mention spreading it elsewhere on my own body, which I believe does happen (?) I'm so confused by the massive amount of herpes-related info on the net.

I bought some Zovirax this morning despite the GP having said there was no point (I only had one sore when diagnosed last week, but have lots more popping up recently). Just hoping it might slow the spread & encourage healing if nothing else. I am also heading to the health shop for Lysine tabs today.

If I have it on my hand does that mean I will be more likely to get it again in the same place in future -- rather than, say, getting it on my face as most people seem to?

That sounds awful.

Did your gp recommend any anti-viral tablets? Haven't tried them myself but a work colleague has.

Yes you can get them spreading to other parts of your body by contact with the blisters. Could you poss cover them with a breathable bandage or is it in an awkward place?

Yes, herpes affects the nerve and you are likely to get reoccurances in the same place, esp with changes in weather (so poss wearing sunscreen on your hands in the summer and gloves in winter might help) or if you are run down or stressed.

I get them on my chin, ears and up my nose. So you have my sympathies as it's hard enough to get my toddler not to stick his fingers up my nose, never kind having them on a more exposed part of my body.

Well, the nurse practitioner who diagnosed herpes (after GP brushed me off I ended up asking at the out of hours clinic) said they wouldn't give me anti-viral tabs unless "your whole body was covered with them" .

And yes, I've been told not to cover the sores up, but have nonetheless been doing so because it's impossible to get on with life looking after a toddler otherwise. The awkward thing is the need to constantly wash hands or just get hands wet washing DS's cups, preparing food, whatever. Obv can't dry hands on towels so have been going through vast, wasteful swathes of kitchen roll. When I have a plaster on at least this is less of an issue (although the plaster soon gets tiresomely wet and comes off). Also the sores look horrid after confinement under even a breathable plaster, but hey ho.

This is SUCH a pain in the arse.

Good advice about the suncreen, thank you -- we are going on holiday in 10 days' time so I will make a point of slathering it on...

Just re-read your post.

I'm assuming that you caught the virus off your son? AFAIK you can't pass the virus back to someone who already has it, even on a different part of their body (but you would be best to check with your gp in case I'm wrong).

Definately letting the air at it is the best thing, lets the sores 'dry out' and heal quicker.

I wouldn't be overly paranoid about it. Just careful around your eyes, mouth and genitals.

tea tree

Oh right, so my cold sores won't trigger cold sores in him because he already has herpes? Sorry, I am just so confused. I thought that despite having already had an outbreak himself, maybe he would still be susceptible to having another one triggered because of my sores, IYSWIM. Now that I am typing this out it looks foolish but it's what I've been worried about.

In any case though, I still have to be careful about hand towels and such, because so far DP has no sign of any sores (and has never had them in his life, same as me until now).

Tea tree -- noted.

Sorry that sounded abit short I was on the phone!tea tree really works for this for some people.Lots of patients who are immunosuppressed swear by it HTH

If you have caught your herpes from ds then you can't reinfect each other - once you've got it you've got it. However, there are two types - imaginatively named type 1 and type 2. If you have different types then you could pass them to each other but it doesn't seem likely. (In the Olden Days type 2 was genital, type 1 was oral, but that was in the days when oral sex was a once-in-a-lifetime treat not standard foreplay. Nowadays you can get both in both places.)

Antivirals are readily available and work for me. I go through phases of outbreaks so i keep a pack on hand (happily prescribed by doctor) and if i get a couple of outbreaks in a row i take the antivirals to get back on top of things.

Like trixie i get them when I am stressed, and in the winter.

I use boots version of zovirex cream (exactly the same stuff, just cheaper) and i also use those transparent Compeed plasters - worth a try.

Thanks for all your replies.

So if I ask the doctor again nicely (or a different doctor) they might give the tabs to me after all? Worth a try I suppose.

It's good to be reassured that I can't re-infect DS if I caught it from him (which I almost certainly did).

However, at the risk of sounding very dense, can I just ask again for clarification: even though I can't "give" him herpes again, is it possible that contact with my cold sores could somehow trigger a fresh outbreak of his cold sores? It just seems odd to me, the notion that I could theoretically give myself more sores elsewhere on my own body by accidental contact, but that I don't have to worry about doing this to DS. I don't mean to be stupid but I just need a little more guidance to understand this .

Bumping in case anyone has the patience to post one last reassurance (or dire warning).