On 7 Jun 2005 14:03:51 -0700,
theshadders@peoplepc.com wrote:
Quote
Anyway, now that I suspect my poor little baby may have caught the
virus, when she has a cold sore, how do I keep her from touching her
mouth and then rubbing her eyes?? She's a thumb-sucker! And she has
tubes in her tear ducts at the moment, so she rubs her eyes sometimes!
I'm completely paranoid about her spreading the virus to her eyes!
How common is it to spread to the eyes? I've never had one in my eyes,
my mom hasn't either, even though she's careless about it - is it very
common? I'm very worried!
Oral herpes typically appears first in early childhood. In fact, at
least 70 percent of youngsters under the age of 14 may carry the
virus. Once infected, a person carries oral herpes indefinitely. In
many carriers, however, the virus stays dormant in the body and
does not cause problems. Children often contract the oral herpes
virus through direct contact with someone who has cold sores,
often by kissing or sharing eating utensils. The tendency of toddlers
to put everything in their mouths makes them more likely to catch
the virus. But because carriers with no symptoms can also transmit
the infection, you cannot prevent every case of oral herpes—no
matter how careful you are.
***************
Have her examined by a doctor, btw, because it may not be herpes,
but canker sores. Canker sores might be caused by her scratching
her mouth.
Canker Sores Are Not Cold Sores
If a canker sore appears inside your mouth, you may find it difficult
to distinguish it from a cold sore. Canker sores are not caused by
the oral herpes virus, and the treatment is different. Canker
sores—tiny, shallow ulcers that cause mouth pain for about five to
10 days—usually occur on the tongue or inside the lips or cheeks.
Research suggests that canker sores develop as a response to
a localized trauma or irritation. Unlike cold sores, canker sores
are not contagious and may be treated with a steroid ointment.
*****************
Ocular herpes is not very common, but it is a leading cause of
blindness in the US.
The American Journal of Medicine reports that ocular herpes in the
United States is the leading cause of blindness related to disease of
the clear front covering of the eye (cornea), with an incidence rate
of 0.5-1.5 per 1,000 people.
*********************
If she does have herpes there are some things you can do.
www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/557527.html
Cold sores will go away on their own, but there are some things you
can do to help your child feel better in the meantime:
?To ease the pain, apply ice to the sore; or you can give your baby a
dose of paracetamol liquid such as Calpol or Disprol.
?Offer your child cool drinks. You can use a syringe to give your
baby drinks if it will help, squirting the syringe into the side of
the mouth, not the back, as it can cause choking. Toddlers may prefer
to drink using a straw. An anti-viral medicine is sometimes prescribed
when the symptoms are bad. It may not have much effect once the
blisters and ulcers are well developed. However if you take it early
in the infection it may reduce the duration of the pain and speed
recovery a little.
?To keep your child from infecting other parts of his body or giving
the virus to someone else, wash his hands regularly and try to keep
him from picking at his sores.
?Try to keep your child from touching his eyes whenever he has a cold
sore. This can cause ocular herpes, a serious eye infection. If your
baby develops a painful sore on his eyelid, eye surface, or on the end
of his nose, call your doctor straight away. Your child may need
anti-viral drugs to keep the infection from scarring his cornea.
Dorothy
There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
The Outer Limits
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