5 week old kissed by someone with hsv1?

[Bubble23]

My son is 5 weeks old and last night I was picking him up from the babysitter when I noticed she had a coldsore. I myself have had hsv for some time now (not sure which type, just know I have antibodies) and I know I passed antibodies to my son during pregnancy. But the sitter kissed my sons head and hand and she even touched her coldsore and a few minutes later touched his lip with her finger! I was infutiated. As soon as I got him home o washed His hands and face with soap and water but im afraid it was too late. Im terrified! Will the antibodies offer signifigant protection against the virus, or could my son become very ill?

[gracefromHHP]

washing him when you got home did nothing. herpes doesn't lay on the skin to work its way into the body.

antibody protection from you is waning. I wouldn't count on it for any protection at this point.

http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_oralherpes.cfm  has terrific info on oral herpes. I recommend either forwarding the link to your baby sitter or printing it out and handing it to her. Perhaps no one has ever bothered to teach her about cold sores and safety around children. It's awkward of course to discuss these things but it's very important to protect your child as well as for peace of mind while your child is in the care of someone else.

is it likely your child contracted hsv1 from his sitter? It's still overall low risk but certainly it sounds like you need to talk to your sitter a little about this. 1 out of every 3 children picks up hsv1 from family and care givers before they enter public school but it's still best to use common sense about it as much as possible.

grace

[Mistakeguy789]

It is my understanding that the antibodies aren't really passed on to the child for HSV.  Though I will admit I am not 100% on that.

You need to know which if any type of herpes you have.  I am willing to bet you a few pennies that you had either an IgM test done or an IgG combo test done.  The IgM is worthless for you as it won't show your status at all.  It can be a false positive for cross reacting and various other things.  

You should be tested using an IgG type specific test to know your own status.  

As for the risk to your child there is a little risk given the age of the child and how delicate they are.  Though with all truth and honesty let Grace responed to this one.