Worried about My 8 1/2 month old baby

[newmammy]

Hi I'm new to this anyways my dilema is the following:

My Baby boy is 8 1/2 months old and he exclusivly breastfeeds and on Christmas Day we had a family member kiss him on his neck and I noticed she had a cold sore in her mouth!!!! I feel sick just thinking about it, I want to know if my baby can contract the virus thru a kiss on the neck I wiped the area as soon as I could with soap and water.... and I also want to know what I sholud look for in my baby if he did get it....

Thank you

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I doubt he'll have a problem.  The incubation period for transmission is 3-5 days or so, so if nothing happens by then, you can forget about it.

By the way, not everything that looks like a "cold sore" is in fact herpes.  Most people with herpes lesions are well aware that they shouldn't kiss anyone while a lesion is active.  In the interests of both peace of mind and family harmony, perhaps you should ask the family member what the thing you saw actually is.....

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[newmammy]

Thank you Dr. R

I know what she had was a cold sore my husbands has a big family and about 4 of his family members have cold sores, what I wanted to know in my original questions was what should I look for, bumps, fever???

Thanks in advance

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Both.  If it happens, it should be obvious.  But I bet it won't.

Dr. Rockoff