Cold Blisters in Children; A Cause for Concern?

11 months ago

Kids are very tender creatures and could be exposed to several illnesses at the same time, one of the things that parents get really worried about is cold sores. I remember the story of a first-time mother who noticed sores on her child for the very first time, and she was so worried and scared, that she rushed the child to the hospital in fear, but cold sores are not scarce in children, it is a common infection and other names for it are; oral herpes, blisters, or herpes labialis, but you see regardless of the fact that the name for this infection is cold sores, it absolutely has nothing to do with the cold. While the sores may go away on their own after some time, some may result in a very serious case of sickness in the child.

Image source

When I say cold sores do not have to do with cold, what exactly are they involved with? They are little blisters that appear around the mouth and the lips, but they are not peculiar to these places as they could also appear around the cheeks, the chin, and the nose. They are caused mostly by herpes simplex virus 1, it is a highly contagious cold sore that could be spread through sharing of cups, utensils, kissing, touching of cold sores before it gets healed, or through the sharing of towels or washcloths. There is also a possibility of the virus spreading within 24-48 hours even before the cold sores begins to appear.

Once a child has a cold sore virus, there is a very great chance that the child will carry it with him or her for the rest of their life. The virus could either be dormant or inactive until there is a trigger or an outbreak, where it would now travel to the lips, and there is a breakout of cold sores.

The moment a child gets affected with the herpes simplex virus, the virus will become dormant for a very long period, it could then become active again at any time and then begin to create cold sores again afterward. The cold sores will most likely not last longer than a few days or even up to 6 weeks. A weak immune system, cold wind, hot sun, or the presence of a weak immune system could trigger the activeness of cold sores.

Symptoms will happen differently in different children, the symptoms that will be shown will depend on whether the cold sore has happened just once or on multiple occasions. When your child has cold sores for the very first time, there could also be symptoms of; sore throat, swollen and red gums that could start bleeding, fever, swollen lymph glands, restlessness, and excessive drooling. There is currently no cure for cold sore, but it can be prevented, the pain and the discomfort that comes alongside could as well be eased.

In the case of a pregnant woman having genital herpes, the baby could also get neonatal herpes through contact at birth with fluids during viganal delivery. There are two ways for babies to catch cold sores;

Horizontal transmission: This form of transmission happens through contact after birth. People get contact even without being aware and without visible symptoms. Sharing a kiss, a cup, a towel, a kiss, and other transmissible objects can be used to transfer the virus.
Vertical transmission: This happens when the mother has genital herpes and there is a transfer of the virus through viganal birth, this happens even when the mother isn't experiencing any symptoms, the disease can also be transmitted through the placenta.
Please note that it is impossible for a mother to transfer the virus through breast milk.

Sometimes, the appearance of these cold sores comes from triggers as well, triggers like; Poor diet, fatigue, stress, illness, dehydration, damaged or cracked lips, and exposure to very hot or cold temperatures. Most times when a child is healthy, the cold sores would go away on their own without any form of long time consequences, but in the presence of some existing skin conditions like serious burns or eczema, the herpes virus would affect larger skin areas.

Herpes infection in older children is not really much of a deal in older children, but children and newborn babies could go through a form of ultimately serious complications. When a child gets her first cold sore, the symptoms could become highly severe, producing sore throat, and blisters that spread beyond the lips and the mouth region. Complications in a newborn may create seizures, high fever, lethargy, or going floppy. Cold sores could be managed through; the placing of a cold compress on the blisters, antiviral medications to help speed up the healing process, and taking pain relief for the minimization of discomfort.

It is also advisable that the women who have been diagnosed with the virus, take prescription medications to avoid the outbreaks of oral or genital herpes during pregnancy. You know parents/caregivers could develop sores while taking care of the baby, that is the reason for extreme/extra care, it is the full responsibility of parents to make sure the baby does not have contact with the cold sore, until it becomes dry and scabby, because once that happens, then it is no longer contagious.

In order to keep your infant safe as a parent/ caregiver who possibly has cold sores, these available options could help out a great deal;

Washing of hands thoroughly and roughly, especially before an infant is touched.
Make sure that the baby who has cold sores does not rub the eye.
Do not kiss the infant.
Cover the cold sore and do not touch it, especially prior to or during contact with the newborn.
Older children should be trained not to share utensils with those who have cold sores.
Kissing is also not allowed when a person has cold sores, pass this information to them as well.
For the infant, separate eating utensils, cups, and towels should be used for them.

In an attempt to treat cold sores, you need to ensure that medications are taken appropriately as described by the doctor, the medication needs to be taken within the first 24 hours that symptoms were noticed, because the sooner the treatment is taken, the better the chances of recovery are. Antiviral tablets are only provided based on prescription, and while there is no assurance that it is a more effective form of treatment, there is a belief that it could, speed up the healing process even if it is just with a day.

The process of diagnosing cold sores is not usually difficult, most people who have had cold sores in the past, most of the people who have had cold sore n the past usually know that they are about to have another episode after the first sign, most times they do not even go to a doctor in order to check that fact, but to ascertain its presence especially in other parts of the body, fluid from existing blisters could be taken for test in the laboratory.