Need your help

[alwaysworried]

I’ve had GHSV1 for several decades. In the last years I’ve been suffering extreme OCD over fear of transmitting it to my grandchildren, especially ones with eczema. I’ve read and taken heart from your responses to others, but I still worry. I’m asking all my questions at once.

1.From what I’ve read here, it would require direct contact with a lesion or a sharing towel to transmit it, even to someone with eczema. What if I had showered, wrung out the washcloth, and, not immediately but at some point, touched the child, would that be a concern?

2.I recently had a few small wounds on my hands from work I had done and took a shower. I had one herpes lesion. Since then I had a small cut on each little finger knuckle. I only recently learned about herpes paper cut lesions, a whole new source of terror. I try to never touch the washcloth in the area that touched the lesion, but what if I did. Could I give myself herpes on my fingers since my skin was broken?

3. My SO has cuts on his finger tips which he thinks are from dry skin. We’ve been married many years and he has not gotten GHSV1 that we know of. We’ve always been careful about hand washing to prevent it getting on his hands or anywhere else. This has no longer an issue due to health concerns, but I’m worried it’s been latent all these years and is now showing up just as we are about to take care of our grandchildren for several days. Are there any other signs or symptoms besides a small cut?

[Terri Warren]

1. Not a concern
2. No. Transferring the virus from one part of your body to another after you have established this infection in your body (4 months from first outbreak), is extremely rare indeed.
3. The small cut issue really only applies to the genital area, not fingers. Herpes on the finger presents as multiple blisters on a reddened base that are quite tender and take a while to heal. The cuts you describe sound nothing like herpetic whitlow,herpes on the hand.

Terri

[Author]

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