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Hi Terri,
I have developed a fear of cold sores…I went down a rabbit hole of web searching and I realize that never leads to anything good. So I’m looking for some facts. Even seemingly reliable websites make it sound as if it is extremely likely to contract HSV-1 from casual contact (nasal secretions, sharing utensils, any contact with saliva, pecks on the lips when no sores are present but there could be viral shedding, etc.). So here are my questions:
– Are these studies based on the fact that the virus can survive on inanimate surfaces for a while and are thus detectable, but the viral load may not be enough to infect someone. So that would mean the virus can technically survive for hours outside the body, but still not pose a risk?
– Is there a risk of contracting HSV-1 orally if you touch something like a door handle or piece of paper and touch your mouth if the person who just touched the object had a cold sore and touched the sore prior to touching the inanimate object?
– I have a toddler who is in daycare so I’m aware the odds of children contracting the virus there is high. If a child is a thumb sucker, and they have the virus, is there any way to protect against herpetic witlow?
– If you have herpetic witlow once will you hands always run the possibility of shedding the virus?
– If someone with the virus (but no sores visible) accidentally spits a little and it lands on your lips or their lips bump into yours (I’m thinking of when I hold a little kid and they squirm about) is there a statistically significant risk of transmission?
Thanks so much!
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First let me ask you how to you know that you are not currently infected with HSV 1? If you have taken the IgG test and it is negative, the test misses 30% of infections and about half the US population is infected with HSV 1.
– Are these studies based on the fact that the virus can survive on inanimate surfaces for a while and are thus detectable, but the viral load may not be enough to infect someone. So that would mean the virus can technically survive for hours outside the body, but still not pose a risk?
Exactly!
– Is there a risk of contracting HSV-1 orally if you touch something like a door handle or piece of paper and touch your mouth if the person who just touched the object had a cold sore and touched the sore prior to touching the inanimate object?
No.
– I have a toddler who is in daycare so I’m aware the odds of children contracting the virus there is high. If a child is a thumb sucker, and they have the virus, is there any way to protect against herpetic witlow?
Not really, no, sorry, but whitlow is not that common in children so apparently it doesn’t happen often
– If you have herpetic witlow once will you hands always run the possibility of shedding the virus?
No, the skin of the hands is too thick to asymptomatically shed so it is only infectious when there are sores present
– If someone with the virus (but no sores visible) accidentally spits a little and it lands on your lips or their lips bump into yours (I’m thinking of when I hold a little kid and they squirm about) is there a statistically significant risk of transmission?
No!
Terri
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