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Can I transmit Herpes to my children through indirect contact?
I have genital herpes and am worried about secondary transference of the virus to my children through, say, a towel... Hypothetically, if I touched an area where viral shedding was occuring and then touched my child or something else that my child touched can my child acquire the virus through indirect contact? Can the virus (during shedding) be tranferred from, say, your genital area to your eyes or mouth or something from your hands? Any additional info would be greatly appreciated.
This freaks me out as my youngest (9 month old) has eczema, and our family sometimes reuses towels, which we will now STOP doing (was just diagnosed with type 2 genital herpes a few days ago). I am afraid I accidentally infect one or both of my kids changing their diapers, or washing them, or taking a bath with them. I will want to die (literally) if my children contracted this virus through me. I am very scared of eczema herpeticum or whatever it's called. Neither child has ever had signs or symptoms on anywhere other than the mouth though I think my 3 year old has had a cold sore in the past (MAYBE) and I thought my 8 month old had a cold sore yesterday but now it seems to be gone and I fear I am being neurotic. Very scared. I love my boys and have taken baths with them and probably reused towels with them in the past. Shared drinking cups, etc... I am afraid if I touched my genital area inadvertently and then was, like, changing the baby's diaper could this happen?
you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about as far as transmitting your genital herpes to your children! We call it a sexually transmitted infection for good reason! We don't have that sort of contact with our children.
In a household, everyone should have their own towel, washcloth , toothbrush, razor and body puff - for reasons far beyond herpes transmission. Very common germs can be easily transmitted through sharing those objects so each person having their own is important. As far as transmission through a towel - conditions have to be almost perfect in order for it to happen. You'd have to be shedding the virus actively, use a part of the towel on an area shedding and pretty much hand the towel to someone else to use and they'd have to manage to get the part of the towel with active virus on on a thin skinned body part and rub it in vigorously with the towel. No one has that sort of bad luck!
The risk of eczema herpeticum is incredibly low in general. Most children who do develop it, give it to themselves from their own oral herpes infection. Since 1 out of every 2-3 adults your child is around statistically has hsv1 orally ( and 1 out of every 3 of a child's playmate's ), taking precautions to protect your child against oral herpes is far more important than worrying about transmitting your genital herpes to them. http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_oralherpes.cfm has terrific info on oral herpes and common sense approaches to protecting your child from it. We really only see hsv2 as a cause of eczema herpeticum in adults, not kids.
grace
In a household, everyone should have their own towel, washcloth , toothbrush, razor and body puff - for reasons far beyond herpes transmission. Very common germs can be easily transmitted through sharing those objects so each person having their own is important. As far as transmission through a towel - conditions have to be almost perfect in order for it to happen. You'd have to be shedding the virus actively, use a part of the towel on an area shedding and pretty much hand the towel to someone else to use and they'd have to manage to get the part of the towel with active virus on on a thin skinned body part and rub it in vigorously with the towel. No one has that sort of bad luck!
The risk of eczema herpeticum is incredibly low in general. Most children who do develop it, give it to themselves from their own oral herpes infection. Since 1 out of every 2-3 adults your child is around statistically has hsv1 orally ( and 1 out of every 3 of a child's playmate's ), taking precautions to protect your child against oral herpes is far more important than worrying about transmitting your genital herpes to them. http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_oralherpes.cfm has terrific info on oral herpes and common sense approaches to protecting your child from it. We really only see hsv2 as a cause of eczema herpeticum in adults, not kids.
grace
I believe the answer to that is yes. That is why it is recommended not to share towels with someone who has herpes.
But the risk you talk about is very very low. If you do get a water blister... be careful before it bursts because it is that water that is loaded with viral particles and that's usually how herpes is most often shed. If you were to touch that fluid and then that fluid got onto a surface, it is possible to transmit it like that. However even then the virus would have to be transmitted to the right mucous like surface such as a mouth, genital area, and yes eyes... scary. (the eye transmission is the scariest one, especially if it's the first ever herpes exposure)
I believe it is possible that the herpes can be 're-spread'. To different ganglia... such as a genital exposure then going up to an oral exposure, then going to an eye exposure. But the way this works has to be spread outside of the body and not inside the body.
For example... you get oral herpes... then you get an outbreak you take the fluid from the water blister and touch your genitals... then you it goes down there... then you take the fluid and squeeze it in your eyes ( don't do that )... now it's also there.
I hope that helps... just be careful when you get an outbreak... it's the fluid in the blister that is loaded with viral particles. And also be aware of 'asymptomatic' shedding that may occur but the risk of transmission during no symptoms is very very small.
But the risk you talk about is very very low. If you do get a water blister... be careful before it bursts because it is that water that is loaded with viral particles and that's usually how herpes is most often shed. If you were to touch that fluid and then that fluid got onto a surface, it is possible to transmit it like that. However even then the virus would have to be transmitted to the right mucous like surface such as a mouth, genital area, and yes eyes... scary. (the eye transmission is the scariest one, especially if it's the first ever herpes exposure)
I believe it is possible that the herpes can be 're-spread'. To different ganglia... such as a genital exposure then going up to an oral exposure, then going to an eye exposure. But the way this works has to be spread outside of the body and not inside the body.
For example... you get oral herpes... then you get an outbreak you take the fluid from the water blister and touch your genitals... then you it goes down there... then you take the fluid and squeeze it in your eyes ( don't do that )... now it's also there.
I hope that helps... just be careful when you get an outbreak... it's the fluid in the blister that is loaded with viral particles. And also be aware of 'asymptomatic' shedding that may occur but the risk of transmission during no symptoms is very very small.
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
