Scared of transmission to children

[Scaredmom]

Hi Terri,
I have hsv2 herpetic whitlow. It was cconfirmed with a swab. It always appears below my thumb near my palm. I had a particularly nasty outbreak a while ago that left a really bad scar. I take valtrex daily but still get occasional outbreaks. My concern is for my children. One is 2 and the other is 3 months. My questions are:
1) is my hand always contagious? Or just during the outbreaks?
2) during an outbreak will just putting a bandaid over it protect my children or should I wear a glove?
3) is there anyway there is some residual virus left in the scar? I’m not sure if i need to keep that covered all the time.
4)would the virus be transmitted if they grab my hand and im in the early stages of an ob (the tingling, itching before a full blown ob) ? I’m so worried I wear bandaid on that part of my hand all the time, even to bed.
I’m making myself sick with worry over this. Please help

[Terri Warren]

1) is my hand always contagious? Or just during the outbreaks?
No, your hand is not always contagious. The thick skin of the hand does not shed virus like the thin skin of your genital area.

2) during an outbreak will just putting a bandaid over it protect my children or should I wear a glove?

Good question. If I was in your situation, I might be tempted to wear a glove during an outbreak while changing diapers but only cover with a Band Aid at other times.

3) is there anyway there is some residual virus left in the scar? I’m not sure if i need to keep that covered all the time.

No, you do not need to cover the scar.

4)would the virus be transmitted if they grab my hand and im in the early stages of an ob (the tingling, itching before a full blown ob) ? I’m so worried I wear bandaid on that part of my hand all the time, even to bed.

No, they won’t get herpes by grabbing your hand assuming their little hand skin is intact. Are you dramatically increasing your medicine doses when you get that pre-outbreak feeling? If yes, doesn’t it impact it at all?

Terri
I’m making myself sick with worry over this. Please help

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Terri Warren.

[Scaredmom]

Thank you for your prompt response. I do up my dosage to 1000mg 2x/day when i feel an ob coming on. It usually stops it or makes it a mild ob. I just have a few more follow up questions.
1)I felt an ob coming on yesterday and I upped my dosage immediately. I had the area covered with a nexcare bandaid (the waterproof kind) and changed diapers with just the bandaid and no glove. I’m going to get gloves today. Do you think I transmitted it to my children? I don’t recall the area touching them,but now I’m second guessing if it did brush up against them while I was cleaning them up.
2) how long after an ob am I still contagious?

[Terri Warren]

NO, I do not think you transmitted it to your children, not at all, and honestly, probably a glove is overkill but you do have such a very young child, I just think you should take this extra precaution for a few more months until their immune system is more mature. The coverage of the skin should be just fine and you didn’t really have an outbreak anyway, right? Just prodrome?

I would consider yourself contagious until new skin has replaced the area of the outbreak.

Again, I’m probably being over cautious about the glove for the time down the road.

Terri

[Scaredmom]

Last question, I don’t know if this is normal,but whenever I feel the prodrome I can feel bumps under the skin. So from the very first tingling sensation there are tiny bumps present. They then progress into large bumps. I think the higher dose of valtrex is working b/c the bumps are not getting any bigger and by the second day they are usually large and very painful.

Have you ever heard of bumps being present during the prodrome stage?

So there were bumps present while I was changing diapers.(under the bandaid)

Do you still think there’s no chance I transmitted it to them? Even if that part of my hand accidentally brushed against them?

[Terri Warren]

Generally, the term prodrome means sensations that come before any physical symptoms but this can fit too – no reason to be rigid about the definition of prodrome.

As long as they were under the Band Aid, that’s fine.

I still don’t think there is a chance that you transmitted to them, no, I honest and truly do not.

Terri

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