CHILDREN’S HEALTH: HERPES SIMPLEX
Symptoms
Oral herpes: multiple painful ulcers of mouth membranes or eyeballs, painful, red, swollen gums, swollen lymph nodes in neck, fever, fever blisters near the lips.
Genital herpes: painful ulcers and blisters on genitals.
Home care
For oral herpes give aspirin or paracetamol to relieve pain, and have the child eat bland foods.
An older child can rinse the mouth with a mild salt solution or be treated with triamcinolone or local anesthetic ointments.
Apply antibiotic ointment to fever blisters to prevent cracking and lessen the possibility of further infection.
For genital herpes, warm soaks help relieve inflammation and pain.
- In the case of herpes of the eyeball, consult an eye doctor promptly.
- If a baby contracts herpes, get prompt medical attention.
- Keep adults or children with herpes isolated from babies.
- A pregnant woman with genital herpes can infect her child as the infant passes through the birth canal during delivery.
Herpes simplex is a highly contagious disease caused by herpesvirus hominis types 1 and 2. It is commonly known as canker sores (when it occurs in the mouth) or fever blisters (when it appears near the mouth). The infection is transmitted by direct contact with an infected person.
The type 1 infection (oral herpes) is common before the age of four but can occur at any age. Once contracted, the virus continues to live in the body for months or years, sometimes for the person’s lifetime. When the person’s resistance is lowered, (for instance by fever, sunburn, exhaustion, or emotional stress), the “sleeping” virus is reactivated.
Infection with the type 2 virus is genital herpes and, like oral herpes, it is contagious and often recurrent. It is usually transmitted sexually when the lesions (blisters) are present. A baby born to a mother with genital herpes can contract the disease while passing through the birth canal during delivery. In this case there is a 50 percent chance that the infant will be severely damaged or die.
*110/84/5*
