helper has cold sores

1

1stimemum

Registered User
hi, not sure if this is the right place. I just found that my helper has cold sores ad my baby is due in 2 wks.

I have told her that she is not to kiss the baby at all explaining that it pass from person to person via kissing. However I cant seem to get it out of my mind now.

what happens if i'm out and she kisses baby without my knowledge?

does anyone have similar experience? what would you do? am i being paranoid as I'm 1st time mum?
 
something like 70% of the population of the entire world carries the virus that causes cold sores. they are not pleasant (i have only had 3 in my life. one after i delivered each of my children and one other time when i was absolutely exhausted.) but they are not dangerous.

yes, you are being a little paranoid(every first time mum is entitled to a little paranoia). chances are if she has the cold sore now, by the time the baby comes in 2 weeks, it will be gone and it will no longer be contagious. once the cold sore is gone, there is no reason why she can't/shouldn't give the baby a kiss.

what would i do?
1) tell the helper that under no condition is she to kiss the baby when she has a cold sore blister
2) go to the pharmacy and get her the topical cream to help heal the cold sore faster. it is quite expensive and i would be paying for it for her (especially since we are required to cover all "medical" costs. i've always interpretted that to include costs of over-the-counter meds.)
3) relax a little. it isn't a huge deal.

good luck and congratulations on the impending arrival.
PS> welcome to the forum, too!
 
hi carang, yes I do think I'm being paranoid, i wonder if this is motherhood. All i seem to do is worry!

I will buy her the cream and she went to see the doctor which is how i found out as I was collecting the receipt.

the internet is really not helping, i google baby and cold sore and next thing i know, every dire medical scenario is presented to me!

I will need all you other mums to tell me when to freak out and when not to!
 
Carang is correct the cold sore should be gone before the baby is born, especially with the cream.

I have suffered cold sores all my life, and it is something that you should be aware of with a new baby. In Australia you are advised not to visit new borns if you have a cold sore. I am not saying this to worry you, you have obviously googled cold sores and babies.

I suggest you ask your doctors opinion on this situation just to put your mind at rest. The only time to take extra care, is when people have a cold sore. That means, no kissing, no touching the cold sore and then touching the baby etc. I had cold sore when my babies are were young, I just had to take extra care, as I still do now as they get older.

Your helper does need to understand the risk of cold sores and new borns though. I am sorry to disagree with you Carang, but cold sores can be dangerous to new borns. So extra precautions should be taken when anyone, mother, friends, helper etc is near the baby if they have a cold sore- please dont panic, but please speak to your doctor.
 
1sttimemum - I know how you feel about being worried all the time. I think that this IS motherhood. And apparently the worry never goes away:)
As far as the cold sores go, I think you`re pretty justified to be worried about that. It`s not only that newborns are so susceptible to germs and viruses, but it is YOUR child, and of course you will want to be as cautious as you feel necessary.
Cold sores are extremely contagious, and just not when they`re very visible, as they start off tiny. I think there`s nothing wrong with asking your helper just not to kiss your baby at all, and then taking special care with touching when she does have one.
But for sure go and buy her the best cream there is:) and anything else that will help alleviate your worry. I`m sure your helper also doesn`t want to infect your baby and might be worried about that too.
 
Until I read 1sttimemum's post and Googled "cold sores newborn babies", I had no idea how dangerous cold sores could be for a newborn. Cold sores in a newborn can result in serious illness requiring treatment with anti-virals, hospitalisation and even cause brain damage or death. There are apparently in UK on average six deaths of newborns every year due to the cold sore virus. Here's a link to 2 articles: Mother kills newborn baby with a kiss - Telegraph and Killed by a kiss: Anguish of mother who lost her newborn baby after passing on cold sore infection | Mail Online. Whilst there's no need to panic, you are totally justified in being concerned and in asking her not to kiss your baby. It's a good idea to ask everyone (not just your helper) to wash their hands before they touch the baby.
 
i apologise... neither did i.... as i said, i've only had 3 in my life... didn't even know i carried the virus until i woke the morning i left the hospital after my first baby.

but, honestly, asking her not to kiss the baby while the cold sore is blistered is perfectly acceptable. as is washing hands before touching the baby.

asking the helper to NEVER kiss the baby is, to my way of thinking, kind of cruel. it would be very sad for me for my helper & kids not to be able to show affection to each other. she's been with us since the birth of my first and will be celebrating her 5th anniversary in about 10 days' time.
 
1stimemum said:
the internet is really not helping, i google baby and cold sore and next thing i know, every dire medical scenario is presented to me!
Click to expand...

Same reason I gave up reading some pregnancy books. Seems all they wanted to tell you was the bad things; chapters might have been titled "What your unborn baby could die from this week of pregnancy".
And the internet is worse because people thrive on bad news and odd stories, so that's what comes up when you are searching.
What they seem to leave out is the odds. If all this stuff happened to everyone, none of us would be here.
Look at what you have on cold sores--70% of the population carries the virus, I'm sure all 70% kiss their kids, but the population keep growing. Yes, kids can die of unexpected things and life is a fragile gift, but it is a rare event.
 
i had to be more cautious and telling her she is not to kiss the baby at all was difficult as I think /hope she loves kids BUT my helper is not good with spectrums of grey/ using judgement unfortunately and for now I think very SPECIFIC rules are the only way to go with her.

For now, all I can do is monitor the situation and try not to be too paranoid. Unfortunately I have a tendency to do that....:eyesroll:
 
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