Teen with cold sores all around his mouth

My son has continual cold sores around the edges of his lips. He has just turned 15 (and also just started high school this year). It seems when one finally goes away another one starts. He is also breaking out alot an some of the pimples almost look like the cold sores. Can cold sores also be on your face, or just around the lips? Either way, does anyone have a method of controlling them that is effective and easy for a teen to use?

Sunlight, stress, or fever may trigger new sores, so a sunblock on the lips and around the mouth can help prevent new sores. Get plenty of rest and eat a healthy diet. When the tingling starts that signals the beginning of a new cold sore, hold a cotton ball with isopropyl alcohol on it until the pain and tingling go away.

See your doctor about the possible acne. The acne could cause additional stress, making the cold sores even worse. The doctor can also prescribe stronger treatments if the isopropyl alcohol doesn't work. If the outbreak gets close to the eye area or if the lesions become infected, see your doctor immediately. Been there

As a health educator, I also wanted to put out there a reminder that, as a herpes virus, cold sores CAN be transmitted to someone's genitals through oral sex. Although the type of herpes virus that causes cold sores and the type that causes genital herpes are slightly different, both viruses can take root in both places. When I learned this later in life, I was really pissed at my pediatrician for not telling me this in highschool. He always emphasized how it wasn't the same as genital herpes. I understand that he was trying to make me feel better as an anxious teen, but a) he neglected to consider that I, like most of my peers, was having oral sex, and b) it just reinforces the idea that genital herpes is dirty. Anyway, I now have several good friends who have gotten genital herpes via oral sex with someone with a cold sore, so please make sure your son knows that he has to be careful - for his sake and any of his future partners! herpes: don't pass it on

Two year old with cold sores is constantly biting his lip

My son is 2 1/2 years old, in April of this year he had what the Peditrician called Hand, Foot and Mouth. However, this week - he has gotten two places on the outside of his lip that the Peditrician is calling Cold Sores.

He is constantly biting his lip in those two areas - so I am questioning if this is a cold sore or where he has just cut in the skin from all of the biting. When I was young I use to bite my top lip constantly. Needless to say it is not healing because he is constantly biting the two places.

Has anyone else had a child this young with cold sores and if so any advice would be great? Also if you use to have cold sores and don't have them anymore - please let me know so I will know if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Worried Mother

One-year-old with cold sores "expelled" from daycare

HELP!

Our 28 month old son has had cold sores (HSV-1) since he was a year old. (most certainly contracted from one of us) His initial outbreak was severe and prolonged, and he had frequent recurrences. The outbreaks are becoming less and less frequent (now about 1 a month) and less severe. We are doing what we can (acyclovir, homeopathy, diet) to support what we understand to be his immune system's coming to terms with and controlling the virus.

He has been in a wonderful home daycare 3 days a week (3-6 kids, 6 mos. - 4 years) since he was 9 months old. We're very careful to keep him home if he has an outbreak and no other kids at the day care have ever caught it. Nevertheless, our son has been ''expelled'', possibly owing to the provider's expanding her operation. Some of the other families in the daycare, with whom we would socialize and have playdates, and informal childcare trades seem to have made themselves scarce as well.

He is starting to miss his friends and we are heartbroken for him. We are also stressed and financially strapped as we search for another daycare situation. And we are feeling abandoned by people who we thought were our friends.

We read over half of the adult population has been exposed to the cold sore virus, mostly in childhood. We seem to have fallen in with the other half! Are there any other families out there that have dealt with this?

Specifically,

What about childcare in a group setting for a child who gets cold sores? What are typical providers' policies? Any settings just for kids who get cold sores?

How to help our son deal with the sudden turnover in friends, most of whom he has know since before his first birthday?

How to meet other families with kids who have already been exposed to the virus for playdates and informal childcare exchange for days when our son has an active outbreak?

Parents of Diseased Pariah

I know this doesn't help you at all, but most parents will do everything they can to protect their children for coming into contact with a virus that may cause lifelong, frequent coldsore outbreaks. A great percentage of adults have been exposed to the herpes virus, HSV1 at least, but adults don't play and interact like kids do. Children drool, wrestle, crawl on each other, spit, kiss, chew on toys and engage each other in ways that adults don't. They may not understand ''limits'' on play and may not recognize the warning signs of a pending outbreak, when they may be at their most contagious.

Some people are very susceptible to multiple and frequent outbreaks. This usually lessens with time, although it can take several years or even decades. Hopefully it won't be so long in the case of your son. Best of luck.

Finally, while I think it's great to seek out others in the same situation, please be aware that there are different strains of herpes (HSV1, HSV2, others?) and having one type won't necessarily protect your child in the event that they come across another. One mom's thoughts

Return of my period postpartum, return of herpes

My period resumed about 14 months into nursing my toddler, which was fine. But the third month it was back, I had a herpes outbreak right before my period, which was not so fine. I've had herpes for nearly 20 years, and hadn't had an outbreak for the last 8 years or so. Also, for years I only had a single sore, always in the same location (the virus traveled down the same nerve each time), but this time I had multiple sores in a totally different place.

I can't help but wonder if there's a connection between the hormonal upheaval of resuming ovulation after breastfeeding and the return of the herpes. Anyone have a similar experience? Can I expect more frequent outbreaks now? Will it stick to the new location or move around even more? My OB-GYN has zero curiosity as to why the disease has changed in nature, so I turn to you. anon please!

San Francisco HELP Group Meeting
Date:   Wednesday April 18, 2007
Time:   7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Repeat: This event repeats every month on the third Wednesday.
Location:       St. Mary's Hospital
Street: 450 Stanyan St., 3-East Conf. Room, San Francisco, CA
City/State/Zip: email: HELP_SF[at]yahoo.com for more info
or email HELP_SF[at]yahoo.com for more info.
Have questions about herpes? Or do you want to support others who
have been newly diagnosed? Then please attend a meeting of San
Francisco HELP - a confidential support group meeting for people
with genital herpes. If you're new and not quite up to mingling
at a social event, this is a great first step. If you're a
veteran, it's a great way to support newcomers and keep up with
the latest information.
3rd Wednesday of every month at 7:30 PM
St. Mary's Hospital, 3-East Conf. Room
Near GG Park/Panhandle/Haight-Ashbury
Take Elevators to 3rd Floor, room is across from elevators.

Herpes (on mouth)--preventing outbreaks?

I have occasional cold sores (herpes) and I think it might be due to eating chocolate and peanuts together. Does this make any sense? What do other people have to avoid (food or otherwise) to avoid cold sore out breaks? Is there any way to get them to heal faster? Mine always take about 10 days to heal.

avoid extra salts and sugars (especially tough when I'm premenstrual and wanting salt and sugar - but manageable) Lots of sleep - sounds silly but extra sleep, especially when feeling stressed can help reduce your chances.

Reducing stress and stressful situations - not all things are avoidable but trying to eliminate undue stress has helped curb my previously frequent outbreaks.

Lastly, using Abreva has really helped. At the first tingle or itchy feeling I start applying it. I have had the same tube for nearly a year now (and the tube is TINY) and there is still a ton in there. It doesn't take much but be diligent and keep applying even if you get an outbreak until the sore is all the way gone. This has helped reduce my outbreak from 8-10 days to 4-5 days.

Also, lots of water, avoiding licking your lips or irritating the area and avoid chapstick on the area while there is an outbreak. Keep the outbreak dry and be extra cautious about spreading it to others - namely children with sharing cups, straws etc. Good luck, herpes sucks! Mom of Two

I get canker sores in my mouth frequently

I get canker sores in my mouth frequently - typically, when I'm tired or stressed. Does anyone know of any good/safe products to treat them - over the counter, holistic or prescription - for a quick and less painful experience? I've tried many things - but typically just have to let them take their course..Many thanks! Anon

However, i have also found that certain foods seem to trigger the sores--if I eat a lot of chocolate, have a lot of orange juice, or too many tomatoes, I tend to get a canker sore soon afterwards.

Since the virus that causes these is (I think) in the same family as the viruses that cause chicken pox, shingles, and cold sores, lysine (an amino acid) should help prevent them, too. Corn is high in lysine--or you can get it inexpensively in the supplement store (I get mine at Trader Joe's). It is worth a try. Best wishes! elizabeth

''Mercury intoxication presenting with tics'' by Albert M Lia, Michael H M Chanb, T F Leunga, Robert C K Cheungb, Christopher W K Lamb, T F Foka, Archives of Disease in Childhood 2000;83:174

''The ''Watermelon Frost'' that our patient took contained 878 ppm of mercury, mainly in the inorganic form. Although methylmercury constituted only 2% of total mercury in the CMH [Chinese Medicinal Herb] preparation, the content was 18 times the action level of mercury in food as proposed by the Food and Drug Administration.''

''Owing to the extensive modifications of drug formulations and chemical extraction from an expanding range of natural products, more cases of adverse reactions have been reported in recent years. Even batches of CMH [Chinese Medicinal Herbs] from the same manufacturer may contain variable amounts of active or potential toxic ingredients, as illustrated by our case. Though still relatively rare, heavy metal poisoning with CMH should always be suspected if a previously healthy child develops unusual symptoms, especially those involving the central nervous system.''

concerned skeptic

1) I switched to sensodyne toothpaste (the regular toothpaste has a detergent that is abrasive - dentist recommended this change)

2) use Amosan by Oral-B (also recommended by the dentist)

3) the best topical ointment I have found is 'bonjela' but I bought it in the UK -- it works wonders for me.

I have been virtually canker sore free for an entire year, which is a miracle since I got them every month before trying the above anon

I do not find OTC medications very helfpul. Dentists apparently can prescribe something more potent, but I never tried. Some things that helped to some degree include: brushing teeth frequently to keep the mouth clean, but avoiding toothpastes that contain sodium lauryl sulfate; avoiding tomatoes, oranges, peaches; eating plain yogurt; washing mouth with salt water several times each day Finally sore-free

Worked out great for me Anonymous

Some how, many years ago, I was turned onto a B vitamin that is a true miracle - Pentothenic Acid. I have often taken it every day (for years at a time) to prevent them. I am back on it again and if I don't take it religously every day then after about a week I can feel one coming on.

Pentothenic Acid is a simple B vitamin, expelled in the urine. It can be taken daily even at high doses with no side effects. Currently, for prevention, I take 250mg/day. If I miss several days and feel one comming on, or if I miss long enough to get one, I take 250mg 3x/day (5x/day for the last sore that was particularly long and painful).

I swear by this 1000% and would never live with out Pen. Acid. But, there was a couple of months about 7 yrs ago that I was under more stress than could have previously imagined and the sores became a constant again. So I looked in a health-food store book - Prescription for Nutritional Healing (2nd edition) - and found a list of other things to add: Zinc lozenges (do not exceed recomended dosage)(helped a lot), B complex 100 3x/dy, folic acid (400mcg/dy), vit C (5000mg/dy), vit A 10,000iu/dy (do some research on dosages). The book has more to consider adding, along with more information.

With all this said, once you actually get a sore, it just has to run its coarse (usually 7-10 days or more). Then Pen. Acid helps with the pain, though last time I relied heavily on Anbesol several x/dy, especially before and after every meal.

Hope this helps - Margaret

When I firsted volunteering as a medic at Berkeley Free Clinic I learned that in order to replicate the herpes virus requires Arginine an amino acid. It has been found that the amino acid, Lysine, retards Arginime, so you should include in your diet foods high in Lysine and decrease the foods high in L-Arginine. This is a really good article explaining it much better than I can: http://wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,862,00.html

It's something I manage by taking over the counter Lysine supplements at the first sign of an outbreak (available at any drugstore). Once I started doing this my cold sores would disappear within hours. Im not sure the appropriate dosage of lysine for a child, but you can also regulate it through diet -- dairy, red meat and fish are all great sources of Lysine-- avoid nuts, chocolate and caffeine which are high in Arginine (if your family is vegan then you can be pretty certain this is the problem).

See the site below for a list of Arginine / Lysine balance in foods. http://www.herpes.com/Nutrition.shtml

Hope this helps. susannah

Is there a cure for Cold Sores/HSV1?

Is there a cure for Cold Sores/HSV1, or is this something that I will ALWAYS have to live with? Has anyone tried ViraDerm? What about Lysine? What works to prevent an outbreak and what works to QUICKLY clear one up? I'm totally bummed out about this.... and would love to hear any advice on what to do!!
Bummed : (

Lysine sort-of helps.

I've heard that numbing the sore with ice several times a day reduces the severity and shortens healing time, as part of what happens is due to inflammation alone.

Finally, one of the big catalysts for cold sores is sunburn, so use sunscreen on your lips, preferably one with zinc oxide. anonymous

Kindergartener in my son's class has cold sores

I'm trying hard to determine the appropriate measured response to the following situation. About three weeks ago, I participated in a field trip for my son's kindergarten class. I noticed that one of his little classmates had a severe outbreak of cold sores on and around her mouth. I was surprised that her parents would send her to school in this kind of shape and that the teachers hadn't made mention of this to the parents. The thought passed. Then, a week later, sure enough, my son had cold sores for the first time ever on both sides of his mouth. I am a pretty cool customer in general, but I was apoplectic. Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not. I called his teacher to leave a message - couldn't stop in to speak to her in person as I was on my way out of town on business - and came home to find a flyer sent home from his teacher from the Contra Costa Department of Public Health outlining various communicable diseases and their treatments. As for my son, the problem seemed to have cleared itself up. For now. So I'm wondering what to do, and my choices seem to be: to let it go, to speak to the head of the school, or to let the teacher know how upset I am that this kid was allowed in school in the first place and am wondering about what kind of hygiene is practiced among these kids. My son goes to a private school in case that information makes a difference. Thanks for your input.