Aa
one child has hsv2 and 5other siblings, preventions?
Hi, I'm a mom of 6 kids. My 15 yr old made a stupid one time choice and now has genital herpes. I have 5 other children that share a bathroom, etc. From my browsing I understand that transmission doesn't occur w/ inanimate objects yet the virus likes moisture so what about towels? If my little ones share his towel, (they do this all the time due to not wanting to find their own), can another child pick up herpes 1 or 2? Or would they only contract herpes whitlow? What if they drink out of my son's cup? I know the virus spreads through bodily fluids including saliva. Can my younger ones contract hsv1 then? Also 2 of us have severe eczema already. Do we need to actively worry about eczema herpeticum?
Thanks for taking the time to educate and help us!
Thanks for taking the time to educate and help us!
also herpes and eczema is almost always hsv1 related from oral herpes and eczema, not from genital herpes and eczema. no worries there from your child having genital herpes!!
is sharing a towel an issue? well no it isn't!! In theory, the virus could live on the warm , wet towel but it would pretty much have to be your 15 actively shedding the virus and it being on the towel, using it and then handing it to another child for it to even begin to be an issue. there are no known cases of transmission through towels of herpes.
You and your other family members are not at risk for genital herpes from your child that has it. No worries there at all!!
how was your 15 tested /diagnosed as having herpes? Hsv1 is the main cause of genital herpes in that age group so it's important to him to know exactly what type he has. If he only had a visual diagnosis of genital herpes, he'll need to follow up with proper testing later on to determine his type. If he had a lesion culture done of active symptoms, make sure they typed it to know if it's hsv1 or hsv2. Unfortunately many times a provider only orders it to be tested for herpes and not typed which is against CDC guidelines. He and future partners can't make educated decisions about what precautions to take until they both know who has what. He can't make decisions now about how to treat his herpes until he knows if he has hsv1 or hsv2 either.
www.iwannaknow.org is a terrific website for you both to look at. It has info for parents to deal with children who are sexually active so that you are able to give them good advice about what is safe and what isn't as well as well as just general advice about how to talk to a child who is sexually active. It also has terrific info on std's, how to use a condom and birth control for teens so that they can be properly educated to make their own decisions. Hopefully your child's next sexual experience will be a few years down the road but in case it isn't , make sure they are prepared!!
grace
You and your other family members are not at risk for genital herpes from your child that has it. No worries there at all!!
how was your 15 tested /diagnosed as having herpes? Hsv1 is the main cause of genital herpes in that age group so it's important to him to know exactly what type he has. If he only had a visual diagnosis of genital herpes, he'll need to follow up with proper testing later on to determine his type. If he had a lesion culture done of active symptoms, make sure they typed it to know if it's hsv1 or hsv2. Unfortunately many times a provider only orders it to be tested for herpes and not typed which is against CDC guidelines. He and future partners can't make educated decisions about what precautions to take until they both know who has what. He can't make decisions now about how to treat his herpes until he knows if he has hsv1 or hsv2 either.
www.iwannaknow.org is a terrific website for you both to look at. It has info for parents to deal with children who are sexually active so that you are able to give them good advice about what is safe and what isn't as well as well as just general advice about how to talk to a child who is sexually active. It also has terrific info on std's, how to use a condom and birth control for teens so that they can be properly educated to make their own decisions. Hopefully your child's next sexual experience will be a few years down the road but in case it isn't , make sure they are prepared!!
grace
First off don't judge your 15 year old too harshly...HSV is a really common virus and most people don't get it from being promiscuous. Also, Herpes are NOT tested in STD check ups. Most people don't get a herpes test until they show symptoms (a minority among the HSV positive crowd).
Transmission can occur when asymptomatic, but the rates are really very low. HSV can easily be passed on in skin to skin contact when there's a sore. Since your teen is a teen--that means really reinforcing hand washing when having an outbreak. Especially after masturbation (let's be honest)
If your teen has it on their mouth, then they shouldn't share utensils or dishes when they have an outbreak or are feeling the predome symptoms (tingling).
Of course they could be lucky and be mostly asymptomatic for the majority of their life.
Put them on antiviral suppressants
Give them carmax
Have them wash their hands
Give em a hug
And just remember when the last time YOU had a blood test for herpes antibodies.
Transmission can occur when asymptomatic, but the rates are really very low. HSV can easily be passed on in skin to skin contact when there's a sore. Since your teen is a teen--that means really reinforcing hand washing when having an outbreak. Especially after masturbation (let's be honest)
If your teen has it on their mouth, then they shouldn't share utensils or dishes when they have an outbreak or are feeling the predome symptoms (tingling).
Of course they could be lucky and be mostly asymptomatic for the majority of their life.
Put them on antiviral suppressants
Give them carmax
Have them wash their hands
Give em a hug
And just remember when the last time YOU had a blood test for herpes antibodies.
Have an Answer?
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.
