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Herpes spread to my child concerns
hi all,i got my genital herpes for about 7 or 8 years, kinda embarrasing, but i always worry about my herpes spread to my child. I read on CDC website, and it says "you can not get herpes from objects around you such as silver, toilet seats etc" but it also says "if you touch your herpes fluid,it may transfer to other parts of your body"
I guess that means if can be spread by indirect ways, that's what I concern most. I try to wash my hands a lot, and I can't avoid all situations that indirect way,I want to know whether I will spread my herpes to others in these condition:1,after i took off my underpant, it went through my legs and feet, and then my child touched my legs or feet. 2,after i took a shower, and the water went through my penis and then drop on the ground,and my child pick up things from the ground. thanks.
I guess that means if can be spread by indirect ways, that's what I concern most. I try to wash my hands a lot, and I can't avoid all situations that indirect way,I want to know whether I will spread my herpes to others in these condition:1,after i took off my underpant, it went through my legs and feet, and then my child touched my legs or feet. 2,after i took a shower, and the water went through my penis and then drop on the ground,and my child pick up things from the ground. thanks.
Herpes lives in the nervous system. This means that you worrying about it will make it more active so ironically, worrying too much increases the opportunity for transmission. Your child has to have a cut or abrasion for herpes to get in. The reason why it is often sexually transmitted is simply because mucous membranes are more delicate than ordinary skin and so get damaged, cut or abraded more easily. Herpes CAN live on surfaces under the right conditions for some time, but the odds of actual transmission by this method are extremely low. If your child has an open wound, bandage it up. Humans have immune systems and are able to overcome even herpes virus in very small quantities without getting infected so if you practice common sense, I don't think you have anything to worry about.
1 Comments
No one has ever contracted herpes through normal household contact, and there isn't any reason to scare parents this way. The original poster has hsv2. This is ONLY sexually transmitted - not "often" - only.
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I'm sorry you have spent any time worrying about this. If you are not having inappropriate sexual contact with your child, your child will never get herpes from you.
Yes, it's possible that you could touch a sore and then touch your mouth or eye and infect that area, but that is usually only possible with a new infection before you have antibodies to protect yourself from this.
It won't transmit to anyone else like this. If you touch a sore, by the time you'd touch anyone else, you'd probably be non-infectious, given exposure to air, touching other things, etc. The only areas of the body that you'd need to be concerned anyway with are mucus membranes - eyes, nose, mouth and genitals. Even if your child picked up your underwear, the skin on their hands is too thick for the virus to penetrate.
I'm not sure what you mean by water "going through" your penis, but if you mean that the water in the shower touches your body before it hits the bottom of the shower/tub, and then your child touches something that is in that shower, that's fine, too.
But really, herpes isn't that easy to transmit during sex, much less with casual household contact. You are only infectious from your genitals - that's it, and it takes direct skin-to-skin genital contact with some friction for you to transmit it to anyone.
You aren't a walking bio-hazard or walking, talking infection. You aren't infectious all the time. Millions and millions and millions of people have herpes and a large portion of them have children and they all raise them normally.
I hope this helps and allows you to take a breath and not worry so much. Don't have inappropriate sexual contact with your kid, and you'll both be fine. :)
Yes, it's possible that you could touch a sore and then touch your mouth or eye and infect that area, but that is usually only possible with a new infection before you have antibodies to protect yourself from this.
It won't transmit to anyone else like this. If you touch a sore, by the time you'd touch anyone else, you'd probably be non-infectious, given exposure to air, touching other things, etc. The only areas of the body that you'd need to be concerned anyway with are mucus membranes - eyes, nose, mouth and genitals. Even if your child picked up your underwear, the skin on their hands is too thick for the virus to penetrate.
I'm not sure what you mean by water "going through" your penis, but if you mean that the water in the shower touches your body before it hits the bottom of the shower/tub, and then your child touches something that is in that shower, that's fine, too.
But really, herpes isn't that easy to transmit during sex, much less with casual household contact. You are only infectious from your genitals - that's it, and it takes direct skin-to-skin genital contact with some friction for you to transmit it to anyone.
You aren't a walking bio-hazard or walking, talking infection. You aren't infectious all the time. Millions and millions and millions of people have herpes and a large portion of them have children and they all raise them normally.
I hope this helps and allows you to take a breath and not worry so much. Don't have inappropriate sexual contact with your kid, and you'll both be fine. :)
2 Comments
Thank you so much for your response! well, yeah I've been worrying this a lot, in fact, I got genital herpes before I had my son, and my son is 5 yrs now,he seems alright until now,but I can't stop worrying this, 'cause I read some on internet that some people claims that they got genital herpes by not doing any sexual contact with others and some even got genital herpes as a virgin. That really scares me. and some doctor says to spread by indirect ways is not common(which means it's possible), while some doctors says to spread by indirect ways is theoretical possible and very few cases are in this way. I don't know whether it's true or not. i may think that when i stand and take a shower, the water will drop from my head and then my body my penis and then my legs my feet,there's probably virus goes from my penis to legs with water, and the my son touch my legs, there might be virus to his hand, evern it's not mucous membrane, but my son will very likely to touch his face or eyes with his hands. of course i will not let my son touch genital area, but i always worry about these indirect ways.
I don't know where you're reading this stuff, but stop reading it.
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease - this means it needs sexual contact in which to transmit it. I don't know the people who claim they've gotten it as virgins, but you can get genital herpes from oral sex if someone with oral herpes type 1 performs oral sex on someone who doesn't have it. I mean, their technically virgins if they haven't been penetrated, but they've had sexual contact. They'd have genital herpes type 1, or ghsv1, but it's still genital herpes.
You can, in theory, transmit it by rubbing and grinding genitals together while unclothed. Penetration doesn't have to happen.
Regular casual or household contact isn't going to transmit it. People lie, or omit important details, and people really lie on the internet. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
Is anxiety a norm for you? Do you worry a lot? If that's the case, talk to your doctor about it. I understand wanting to protect your child, but if your anxiety goes beyond this, or you spend any real amount of time on this, you should consider talking to someone about it. I say that only with compassion, and not criticism.
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease - this means it needs sexual contact in which to transmit it. I don't know the people who claim they've gotten it as virgins, but you can get genital herpes from oral sex if someone with oral herpes type 1 performs oral sex on someone who doesn't have it. I mean, their technically virgins if they haven't been penetrated, but they've had sexual contact. They'd have genital herpes type 1, or ghsv1, but it's still genital herpes.
You can, in theory, transmit it by rubbing and grinding genitals together while unclothed. Penetration doesn't have to happen.
Regular casual or household contact isn't going to transmit it. People lie, or omit important details, and people really lie on the internet. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
Is anxiety a norm for you? Do you worry a lot? If that's the case, talk to your doctor about it. I understand wanting to protect your child, but if your anxiety goes beyond this, or you spend any real amount of time on this, you should consider talking to someone about it. I say that only with compassion, and not criticism.
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
