My son was sick because of a cold sore (imgs may be graphic)

[jewelzbird]

We all let people hug and kiss our baby do not blame yourself. In fact even if you had told people not to they would. It is an act of love that we do without thinking first. In fact I have 2 friends that have mouth herpes and both were around my new born. This is a flook that you could not have seen coming!! I am so sorry this happened to you!! I had no idea this could even happen. I know a child that got infected by his mom and had a gum infection and couldn't eat for a week. Just smoothies. He was 18 months old at the time. Now when he has a cold he gets lip sores. He passed it to his little sister too. I was always afraid I was going to get it too when I babysat them...never did. i don't get it. They say it is so contagious but my friend has never passed it to anyone, meanwhile I saw it sweep through that family. Random! So sorry for your pain! The meds work well and fast so if you ever see the beginnings of a soar later just get those meds going! HUGS!!

[RJmomof4]

oh my lord, I will not be letting anyone kiss my children ever again ... as for me kissing them now Im a bit scared to kiss my nb when he/she comes.

[Umm_Ibraheem]

Originally Posted by RJmomof2 oh my lord, I will not be letting anyone kiss my children ever again ... as for me kissing them now Im a bit scared to kiss my nb when he/she comes.

I am sorry mama. I ask the doc the same qs and he said my DS is fine as long as whoever kisses him doesn't have an outbreak. You can check to see if you were ever exposed to the virus via a test that checks for a specific antibodies. My son reacted so strongly because he had a lot of tears in his skin and it facilitated the transfer + 2 weeks before he had a horrible cold so he was very vulnerable. I didn't mean to scare you and I feel bad about bashing people with HSV1 or 2, I was just really upset. I am changing the title because I didn't mean to scare people just share my story.

also if you have the antibodies before the 3rd trimester than most likely they would be transferred to your baby in the womb and later in breast milk if you so choose to. That way your baby will have some immunity although it is still wise NOT to kiss anyone or any babies when you clearly have an outbreak.

You cannot pass herpes unless you are 1)carry the virus 2) have an active breakout and the person you are kissing has some kind of lesion that allows the virus to enter the body (or if you lick it and swallow). Similar to hiv you must have contact and a fluid medium to pass it on (in the face it would be saliva) in the genitals it would be secretions). I didn't mean to scare people or to discriminate against people with this.

[kitty1163]

OMG. There are no words. Do you need anything? Diapers? Covers? Anything.

[Liddle1]

oh no!!!! I'm so sorry

people with cold sore should know better!!!!

[Lovefam6]

That is the most horrible story. I had a cold sore during delivery of my lil' man and the dr reminded me not to kiss him (I didn't need reminding), but I had NO idea what a cold sore could do to a baby. Your thread makes me want to hurt the "friend" that shared a coffee w/me and gave me her disease. I hope your LO and you both heal from this traumatic experience.

[MCR]

OMG Your poor baby, that has to be the hardest thing in the world for you to see. I'd want to beat the tar out of who kissed my kid and did that too.
I hope he heals super fast is is back to his normal self ASAP.

[TuthGuru]

wow- that's horrible looking! poor little babe.

i just thought i'd share this with you so whomever you are suspecting as the culprit won't be falsely accused. typically, the incubation period for hsv is 3-5 days (which means a person wouldn't begin to show symtoms until that point).

you reported that he was kissed on sunday and that photo was on tuesday? there's just no way those lesions could have developed to that degree from an exposure that recent.

it simply must have been an earlier exposure than you realize.

has your baby ever been sick before with a fever and loss of apetite (and did you happen to ever notice really red gingiva (gums)? if so, that was probabaly when he was initally exposed. the recurrences are usually when patients exhibit the extraoral lesions like in your photo- not the first breakout.

hopefull that helps you understand when he may have been exposed. you'll probabaly never know. even people who have never had a cold sore carry the virus so there is really just no way of ever figuring it out.

this case is certainly very, very atypical and i'm sorry you are experiencing it. the fact that he was already battling a staph infection rendered his immune system weakened, otherwise in most healthy babies this would never happen. so to other mamas, please don't freak on people loving up on your baby !


and to you OP mama, my heart goes out to you....much love to you and your sweet, innocent baby! keep us posted!

[My Apron Strings]

Oh my goodness! Your poor little guy.

Wishing a speedy recovery!

PS My husband lost a good friend after telling "him" not to kiss our newborn son on the mouth! (I had never met his friend before and sure didn't miss him after that)

[Psychomom]

I am SO, so sorry your babe had to experience that.