I'm devastated...my 4 year old has a cold sore! HELP!!!

Yesterday evening (out of nowhere) a cold sore just popped up out of nowhere---- my estranged husband has oral & genital HSV1. I tested for hsv1 back in April/May and it came back negative. I have been positive for HSV2 for the past 2 years, but apparantely haven't caught hsv1 from my now ex-husband.

Thoughts are racing my head. If I tested negative then me kissing my son for 2/3 seconds (peck) can't be possible that I contaged him with oral herpes. I am being all paranoid wondering if my ex did something to him, or if my test was a false negative (I will retest in October since it'll be 4+ months since by last exposure to hsv1 with my son to be ex-husband) Last possibility is that he got it at daycare..

I feel terrible and guilty, and I can't seem the handle that my innocent child has herpes on his lips. I can't accept HSV-1

BTW: I tested APRIL 24, my tests came back NEGATIVE for HSV1 score of <.0.91. Can someone please interpret?

It's very common for kids that age to contract oral herpes.

If you've previously tested positive for HSV2 and negative for HSV1, it's highly unlikely you have HSV1 now. Terri Warren has said having HSV2 is akin to being immune to contracting HSV1 (though the opposite is not true, unfortunately). OTOH, IgG tests only recognize 70% of HSV1 infections and return false negatives for the remaining 30%, so there's a possibility your HSV1 results were not accurate in the first place.

Are you saying my tests were a false negative? My son definitely has a cold sore on his lip and I'm so heartbroken.... idk how to handle it. I just moved back and separated from my husband & im So upset feeling like shit that my child has contracted this possibly from me or daycare?

What does the <.091 mean? Am I positive? The last time I had sex with my husband (he has oral & genital HSV1) was June 4-no oral sex. I have given him oral sex for the past year but rarely because I feared contracting oral herpes... & here we are today. Should I wait to retest or could I go now/next week? @optimist :(

What I'm saying is that oral herpes is very common among children your son's age. I'm not speculating on the source of his infection, just that it is common for children of his age to have contracted it.

What I was saying about HSV1 testing is that one of the limitations in testing is that it returns lots of false negatives. If 100 people with HSV1 get tested, the test will recognize the infection in 70 of those individuals but will falsely report the remaining 30 are HSV1 negative.

If you already have HSV2 and do not have HSV1, it is my understanding that you no longer need to worry about contracting HSV1. I'm not a medical professional, but this is what Terri Warren has stated. She is a clinician who has specialized in herpes for 35 years or so. I've also seen a study she referenced of 8500+ people, none of whom contracted HSV1 on top of existing HSV2 infection during the time period studied. However, many in the study who had HSV1 did contract HSV2 during that same time period. My takeaway was that it may be theoretically possible, but it is very unlikely to contract HSV1 after already having HSV2.

Well how do I positively know if I DONT have HSV-1? I don't want to contract and/or expose my future children (peck)/partner when kissing (oral sex for partner)... is it safe to assume I'm negative if I do another test again next week (& it comes back negative) Before ever having sex with my husband I tested for HSV-1 & 2 and I know for a fact I didn't have it previous to him, only HSV2 came positive. I've had like tingling symptoms or burning sensation (as I text) but never an outbreak or maybe it's my mind playing games but I've been under a lot of stress this past year due to marital problems.. (Even got shingles)

I'm desperate to know - /: thank you

If it's really important to you to know, you could pursue a Western Blot test which is more sensitive.

If you were tested and it showed positive for Hvs2, it should say negative for Hvs1 on the same paper if I remember mine correctly as you are tested for both.

I tested for HSV2 back in 2016 and it was positive, and negative for HSV1 but now I fear that having had sex with my now estranged ex husband who's positive for HSV-1 both oral & genital I may be contracted oral herpes. I am so scared to go retest. But I know I have to. I feel like I am having to go through this whole thing over again.

The fact that my poor boy has a cold sore is killing me with guilt. I am soooo OCD about oral herpes. I'm spraying the silverware and cups with clorox, throwing away his toothbrushes I am TERRIFIED, It's eating me alive.

Give yourself a break - you're under a lot of stress and this isnt a big deal. Plus, there's nothing you can do. In fact it could be better that he gets it young, his immune system will have a long time to develop. As for sources, could also be aunties/grandmas/girls at daycare, but what does it matter? Like optimist said, 70% of adults get hsv1 - it's part of growing up for 7 in 10 people.