OT - But Freaking Out

[gbcc]

Does anyone know about cold sores???

A girl I work with has a cold sore for the past week now. I was drinking my coffee when she realized that she accidently drank out of mine thinking it was hers.

I have issues with germs and sharing but I instantly started throwing up and now I'm freaking out I might get a cold sore. Please tell me it's not likely??

[tenderhearts]

Here is some information about it.

Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. There are two types of this virus and cold sores are usually caused by type 1 (known as HSV-1). The other type of herpes simplex virus, HSV-2, usually causes genital herpes
In general, we are infected with HSV-1 when we are children; in the majority of these initial (“primary”) infections, there are no symptoms
Usually, the virus infects our mouths. Some children experience mouth and gum symptoms (“gingivostomatitis”) or a sore throat (“pharyngitis”).
Fact: Cold sores are the result of the virus reactivating in our bodiesOnce HSV-1 has entered our bodies, it never leaves. The virus moves from the mouth to quietly reside (“remain latent”) in the central nervous system.
In approximately one third of people, the virus can “wake up” or reactivate to cause disease
When reactivation occurs, the virus travels down the nerves to the skin where it may cause blisters (cold sores) around the lips, in the mouth or, in about 10% of cases, on the nose, chin, or cheeks
Many people who suffer from cold sores are aware in advance that a cold sore is about to break out — they have a tingling or burning feeling, redness, itching, or pain (“prodromal symptoms”) around their lips or mouth
Cold sore outbreaks may be influenced by stress, menstruation, sunlight, sunburn, fever, or local skin trauma.
Fact: The virus that causes cold sores is infectious30%-60% of children below 10 years of age are infected with HSV-1. They have acquired the virus from family and friends through sharing utensils or toothbrushes, and from kissing
The virus is transmitted from cold sores and also when there are no symptoms, as it can make copies of itself on the skin in the absence of a blister. This phenomenon is called “asymptomatic shedding”
By 50 years of age, 80%-90% of us harbour HSV-1 because we have caught it from someone close to us
HSV-1 can sometimes be transmitted to newborn babies by family members or hospital staff who have cold sores; this can cause a severe disease called neonatal herpes.
Fact: The virus from cold sores can infect other areas of the bodyPeople can transfer the virus from their cold sores to other areas of the body, such as the eye, skin, or fingers; this is called “autoinoculation”
Eye infection, in the form of conjunctivitis or keratitis, can happen when you rub the cold sore, then rub your eyes before washing your hands
Finger infection (“herpetic whitlow”) can occur when a child with cold sores or primary HSV-1 infection ****s his/her fingers
HSV-1 can infect your genital area if you engage in oral sex with a partner with a cold sore

[Carole's Daycare]

Cold Sores are a virus- and spread like one. The child probably already spread it throughout the house by touching her mouth, then various objects. I assume you immediately washed up/brushed teeth etc... No way to be sure. The herpes simplex virus can be in your body and you not get a cold sore at all, then, BAM stress, sun, diet, illness and one could pop up 3 ys from now. Your doctor can prescribe an anti-viral to have at first sign of a sore which will cut down on severity and length- and Abreva does work too. Sorry I don't have better news. We had a kid here who had herpetic gingivo-----some 20 letter word for cold sores in the mouth. Nasty. Kids who put hand in mouth, toys in mouth, drool etc can be excluded from daycare in MN state exclusions guidelines to prevent spread.

[gbcc]

It's actually not a child ! It's my assistant. Yes, I did wash my mouth with antibacterial soap. I didn't brush my teeth but just did. It's not scabby looking any longer so I wasn't sure what my risk level was.

[safechner]

It might be lucky or not. I sure hope you won't get it. I get fever blister very often but I dont know why I get it very easy.

[grandmom]

As another poster mentioned, you can get this from folks with no evident blisters. So maybe just color code your coffee cups. My entire family knows that I never drink after anyone, so they never use my cups.


For those of you who get cold sores:

I'm not a doctor so ...can' diagnose etc., but this works for me. I used to have them all the time. Now rarely.

When I feel that tingling mentioned, I immediately take L-Lysine. It's a pill you buy with the vitamins. The bottle says one a day. I take 5-10 or so as soon as I feel the tingling. Then an hour or so later a few more, then more. etc. Rarely do I have one become a cold sore. The tingling just retreats and goes away.

[gbcc]

I finally just asked her about the cold sore. I didn't want to be rude, but figured she would know. She told me that the cold sore is now in the non contagious stage so I feel much better!

Normally I have my special cup but it happened to be dirty from some chai tea last night and I had a replacement. That probably threw her off I guess.

[jen]

As another poster mentioned, you can get this from folks with no evident blisters. So maybe just color code your coffee cups. My entire family knows that I never drink after anyone, so they never use my cups.


For those of you who get cold sores:

I'm not a doctor so ...can' diagnose etc., but this works for me. I used to have them all the time. Now rarely.

When I feel that tingling mentioned, I immediately take L-Lysine. It's a pill you buy with the vitamins. The bottle says one a day. I take 5-10 or so as soon as I feel the tingling. Then an hour or so later a few more, then more. etc. Rarely do I have one become a cold sore. The tingling just retreats and goes away.

L-Lysine is AMAZING! The pharmacist suggested it, told me to take 6 to 10 if I feel like one is coming on...otherwise just take 1 per day. Since I've been taking them everyday I haven't had a cold sores in at least two years!!!

I actually get them in my eye...it is disgusting and can cause blindness do not getting them anymore is a huge deal for me!