Herpes? or Cold sores?!
Question: Is it herpes if a 6 year old gets a cold sore.
obviously he hasnt kissed anyone before is it herpes?
Answers: Is it herpes if a 6 year old gets a cold sore.
obviously he hasnt kissed anyone before is it herpes?
Hi,
I am a doctor..
Well he may have been kissed by an adult who had herpes.or he may have got it by sharing food with an adult who had herpes..
First consult a doctor and make sure that this is oral herpes..
Here is some more information about the disease-
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) can cause infections that affect the mouth, the face, the genitals, the skin, the buttocks, and the anal area. This article will concentrate on non-genital herpes. Many people acquire the virus and have no symptoms. For others, painful blisters appear near the area where the virus entered the body. Typically, the blisters heal completely but reappear when least expected (or desired). In between attacks, the virus hides deep in nerve roots. When herpes simplex lesions appear in their most common location, around the mouth and lips, people often refer to them as "cold sores" and "fever blisters."
What causes cold sores?
There are two types of HSV, type I and type II. In general, type I, also known as herpes labialis, causes infections above the waist, most commonly as oral "cold sores." Type II infections occur mainly below the waist, leading to genital herpes. However, both types of HSVs are capable of infecting the skin at any location on the body.
Herpes infections, no matter where they occur first, have a tendency to recur in more or less the same place. Such recurrences may happen often (for example, once a month) or only occasionally (for example, once or twice a year).
What makes herpes (cold sores) recur?
After infection, the virus enters the nerve cells and travels up the nerve until it comes to a place called a ganglion. There, it lays quietly in a stage that is referred to as "dormant" or "latent." At times, the virus can start replicating again and travel down the nerve to the skin, causing sores and blisters. The exact mechanism behind this is not clear, but it is known that some conditions seem to be associated with recurrences, including:
a fever, a cold, or the flu;
ultraviolet radiation (exposure to the sun);
stress;
changes in the immune system;
trauma to the skin; or
sometimes there is no apparent cause of the recurrence.
How is oral herpes spread?
Infections caused by HSV are contagious. The virus is spread from person to person by kissing, by close contact with herpetic lesions, or even from contact with apparently normal skin that is shedding the virus. Infected saliva is a common means of transmitting the virus. People are most contagious when they have active blister-like sores. Once the blisters have dried and crusted over (within a few days), the risk of contagion is significantly lessened. However, a person infected with HSV can pass it on to another person regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms. This is because the virus is sometimes shed in saliva even when sores are not present. Despite popular myth, it is almost impossible to catch herpes (cold sores) from surfaces, towels, or washcloths.
What are the signs and symptoms?
The hallmark of herpes is a group of blisters on a red base. These blisters dry up rapidly and leave scabs that last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the severity of the infection. This pattern has important implications for the many people who fear they have herpes but don't: If something lasts for weeks, it is unlikely to be herpes.
Herpes infections feel dry and crusty, and they sometimes itch. Some patients have a "prodrome," which is when certain symptoms occur before the actual sores becomes fully evident. The prodrome to herpes infections typically involves a burning or tingling sensation that precedes the appearance of blisters by a few hours or a day or two.
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There are two types of herpes virus- and yes a cold sore is herpes and it's not a STD.
He could have gotten the virus by sharing food with someone... or, kissing (unlikely), sharing lip products (also unlikely).
it is the same virus so yes its herpes (HSV-1 prefered site is the mouth where no one thinks anything about it, but thanks to the surge of oral sex it can sometimes wind up in the genitals which is the stigmatized version of Herpes)
Yes, it is herpes.
Now people realise that cold sores are a form of herpes, they make the mistake of always associating them with genital herpes, and believing they are passed through sexual contact.
Cold sores are the symptom of an outbreak of an oral herpes infection, which is usually caused by the virus hsv-1. Cold sores and fever blisters are nice euphemisms for oral herpes. that is all - they just stop us having to refer to our herpes infection all the time!
Hsv-1 also causes half of all genital herpes, but that does not mean that an oral herpes infection is of sexual origin.
Since most adults have oral herpes (cold sores) - up to 95% of the population, depending on age, and many children are also infected - 60% of people by the time they enter high school - there are many people out there who can infect you with oral herpes every time they kiss you, even when they don't have a visible cold sore.
Anyone who has ever been given a quick kiss can have oral herpes.
In the case of children, it is usually caught through kissing other children or being kissed by family members or other adults who are infected with ORAL herpes, NOT genital.
Genital herpes is only infectious through contact with the infected genitals and oral herpes through contact with the infected mouth.
Obviously it doesn't have to be a full on boyfriend-girlfriend type kiss. A peck on the lips lasting a millisecond can pass it on. And most 6 year olds have received at least one affectionate kiss in their lives.