my child got herpes..... - Herpes Message Board

esam · 11-14-2003, 01:30 PM

hi - i wanted to share this story with people because i need to talk about it with someone. i have an 18 month old little girl who has always had rashes since she was little - she seems to be sensitive to several foods so when she wound up having a really bad diaper rash early this year we treated it like we usually did and waited for it to clear up. when it didn't i took her to the dr who decided to take a swab of one of the open sores for some reason - he said he did it out of habit, kinda, cause he was used to doing that type of thing with adults. he told me what the swab would detect (herpes) but that he didn't think it would come back positive. well turns out it was herpes. i have never been so upset in my life. my little girl! finding out it was herpes then led to a test to find out which one it was - type 1 or 2. this also led to having Children & Youth interview both my husband and i cause they had to look into potential child abuse. my child had only been out of my sight for just a few times - at the gym and at a mother's group held at a church. to make a long story short - it was determined it was type 1 (the mouth sore type, right?) - and we figure someone had changed her diaper and wiped her maybe after touching the open and contagious sore on their mouth which in turn spread the virus all over her bottom. now when she gets open sores on her bottom we have to give her Acyclovir. she cries out "owie owie owie!!" because when she goes to the bathroom in her diaper it hurts her so. she is so innocent in this all it breaks my husbands' and my heart that she has to go thru it and deal with it for the rest of her life. i feel as a parent i should have been able to protect her from something like this. i've discussed with the dr's how it could have passed to her - wouldn't the person with the cold sores have known they were contagious? he said that in order for her have had the virus transmitted to her bottom like that the person who changed her would have had to have been in a contagious stage of the virus and known they had the herpes. we will never know who exactly passed this virus on to her. but she is soooo young to have to deal with it. i can only hope during her lifetime that maybe a cure can be found. thank you for letting me talk about this. i can only imagine how it must affect people older and then being sexually active too.

jgurl1976 · 11-14-2003, 01:52 PM

I have type one (mouth) also down there. I got it from my boyfriend who had a cold sore and preformed oral sex. I had NO CLUE that could have happend. My boyfriend didnt either. I felt really stupid when I went to the Dr. to have it cultured. There is some good news regarding that type down there. It is usually less severe, and you have less outbreaks. Ive had it over 3 yr now and on 2 outbreaks including my first. The second one was brought on by stress of buying a house. Did the Dr. give valtrex? Im not ssure kids can take it but if they can it needs to be given if she still has the sore. I was told by my OB GNY that if you catch the 1st outbreak soon enough and dose it w/ valtrex you have a better chance of having less outbreaks. Hope this helps.

notsobad · 11-14-2003, 02:13 PM

Esam....your story actually brought tears to my eyes when I read it. How sad...so sad that she has to endure such pain at a young age and can't even understand why. That sounds like someone has been really careless with her...perhaps at the day care. It sounds weird...what were they doing....touching her privates...I have changed babies before and don't remember having to actually touch them to change them...will add a prayer for her....perhaps since she is so young it will "burn out" by the time she is a little older and won't have to struggle with it forever....right now she is so young and too weak to really fight it off...that's really sad though..hang in there.

besafe20 · 11-14-2003, 04:57 PM

I am so sorry about your little girl. That is most unusual! I caught herpes 1 down there from oral sex. I had no idea that could happen. That ordeal was 2 years ago for me but I want to share some important information. I spent a great deal speaking with the herpes hotline which I suggest you call. They told me that when the herpes virus is spread it is by sexual contact only. meaning direct contact with the sore. I asked if I could have gotten the herpes 1 down there by someone touching me with their hands or if I had it on my mouth and touched myself down there and if it could be spread that way. They said no. They told me that when oral herpes is found below the waist it is always from oral contact. I know that is disgusting to hear but you should know. Please call the herpes hotline they are great at answering questions and know more then family doctors. I know this because my family doctor was the one who suggested I spread it to myslef! The specialists said it wasn't the case and they were right beause according to my blood tests my immune system showed an immediate response meaning I did not have it before.

hb2002 · 11-14-2003, 07:03 PM

I can't see how the herpes hotline could suggest that genital herpes has to have been caused by oral sex. If someone has a cold sore, touched it with their finger and then touched the babies bottom while diapering her, I would think that the virus could be transmitted that way. I can't see why transmission has to be through oral sex. Granted, it is probably the way it usually is transmitted, but people have had a cold sore and touched themself in the genital area and had an O/B of Herpes 1 in their own genital area therefore transmitting the virus from oral to genital.
With babies, there is always a concern of sexual abuse. Unfortunately, an 18 month old is unable to tell you what happened. I would watch for changes in her behaviour and possibly other signs such as vaginal or oral herpes. You might also want to ask some of the other parents who may have left their babies with the same caregivers if their baby has an "unusual rash", without disclosing that your daughter has herpes. Also keep your eyes open for someone who has a cold sore. But as much as sexual abuse is going to be on your mind, I will tell you that I have also seen people give a babies bottom a kiss (non sexual) just because they are so soft,