Help! Severe Case of Herpes Simplex I on My 5 Yr. Old's Face We Can't Control!

Get him a RX for Valtrex and RX for a topical treatment call Zivorax (sp?). Both work wonders and will keep a cold blister from coming on if I do both when I feel that first tingling sensation around my lip. Try to keep him out of the sun if he has an outbreak. The sun just makes it worse.

I recommend H-Balm, and H-Balm Daily, which you can find online. Use it immediately when a cold sore starts to appear. When he gets old enough, please make him aware that he could spread herpes from his face to a sexual partner's genitals. He needs to be very careful. Good luck!

I am so sorry to hear that. I have battles cold sores my whole life. I don't know if he is too young to take the medicine, but VALTREX is amazing. It is only available by RX, but it works great. I take it on the onset of a berakout and it is gone within a few days. They also offer the same drug in a lower dose that can be taken daily to prevent breakouts. It is worth a call to your Dr. Also, the Abrea that is available over the counter at all stores is great too. It is expensive, but again really worth it, it is a cream that you put directly on the sores and it prevents it from spreading. I went to a specialist and was tested to see what could be causing it. In my case nuts, espically peanuts was causing some of the outbreaks. Take nust, (peanut butter) out of his diet and see if it helps. Please let me know what you find out.

Your poor baby! and you! It's so important to do the best to keep it from his eyes. My experience has been that the worst dietary culprits are peanuts (and peanut butter), tomatoes and chocolate. They are ok in small quantities, as an occasional treat, but avoid daily intake. The best supplement I've found is Red Marine Algae. I'm not sure what the recommended dose would be for a 5 year old; and would insist on a good quality brand from a health food store (ie Raisin Rack in Columbus, Comfrey Corner in Heath), where they would have sources for recommended doses. As soon as I know an outbreak has started, I double the dose and it's gone within a few days. Also ask your doctor about a topical acyclovir (zovirax) ointment/cream. Feel free to email me for anymore info. I've fought it for @30 years and this is the BEST!) Good luck!

S.,

A great place to go to find some remedies is www.herbalhealer.com. I would recommend you read about the 4-Herb tea and the Beta Glucans. Both of these products would probably really help. The 4-herb tea will cleanse the liver and the blood stream. Viruses have a real hard time surviving in a "clean" environment. The Beta Glucans are a super immune system booster. They are safe for children, you would just have to adjust he dosage. I take both of these on a daily basis just to keep the krud bugs out!! I hope this helps. If you have any questions about these products feel free to email me. I have been ordering and using these products for quite a while and the site and company is owned by a Naturopath Physician.

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about your sweetie's skin problem! I deal with cold sores too and have done a lot of research. The one thing that gives me solace is that doctors say that the outbreaks deminish (sp?) with age! I just know you will find a system that will help your baby deal with them.

One thing I thought I would mention, I also take Lysine but have probs taking the tablets I find at the drug store so I order capsules online that are much easier to swallow, anyway...you might want to look into the capsules as you could maybe open them up and sprinkle it in his food as a way to get it into him! :)

In England they have a new product called Compeed that is a patch that covers the sore. It is also supposed to hide the sore. I'm really interesed in THAT! (helps to prevent spreading too) I haven't been able find a way to purchase it YET, but I haven't looked lately. Orajel has come out with a sort of copy-cat product that is an overnite patch. I'm not too interested in that because in my many years of dealing with this the key is to DRY it out and this says it "moisterizes". And it is just for overnite.

I must stress that it has helped A LOT when I discovered using ice on it just as it is starting. The ice seems to confuse the virus and sometimes it will stop altogether. The hard part for you will be getting your kiddo to keep the ice on it! :-P

I go hard-core on the whole drying out idea...I used to use rubbing alcohol (yeah, I know...drastic.) But I have found one of the best things to use is something sold at Walgreens called "Cure-chrome" antiseptic. (it is in the first aid section) At the first sign of outbreak you wet a q-tip with the cure-chrome and gently rub the liquid into the blisters. It is the gentle rubbing that delivers the medicine into the skin. Don't rub so hard as to damage the skin tho. And don't dip the q-tip back into the bottle, of course. I do this for about 10 minutes--then leave it alone for one hour before putting on Abreva or Camphoponique (sp?) I'll reapply later in the day if it seems to be a particularly bad outbreak. Once again, it might sting a bit so I don't know if you want to try this.

Hope all this rambling helps in some small way. Sending a hug to your sweet little guy!
L.

I'm sorry to hear about your son's condition, poor guy!
I do have some people that have had great results through my company, and I'd be happy to hook you up with them to hear what they've found for it. My mom happens to be one of them.
You can email me with your contact number and best time to reach you (____@____.com), and I'll be happy to help you get the information.
Blessings,
Renee

Hi, I have always suffered with the condition myself. I too had an unusual case where when I was in high school I got it so bad that it covered my face. I had to go to the hospital and have cultures done because they couldn't figure out what it was. I always get an outbreak when I am nervous, sick, from too much sun, etc. The dentist told me years ago to try an amino acid, called L-Lysine. I take it everyday and when I feel them starting to come on, I take several at a time, several times a day. It has gotten to the point where I can control them before they come out. Hope this helps. It's no fun. Good luck! S.

Hey S.!

Have you had a consultation with a pediatric infecious desease specalist? This might be worth your time. Check with the closest children's hospital and see if you can get in.

Our daughter had case after case of shingles when ever she would get stressed, and like your son's ailment, it kept her out of school often to protect the kids around her, and she just missed too much school. The specialist put her on a 6th month round of valtrex, and she has not had an out break since. Maybe there is something they can do to help your son too.

M.

sounds like he needs to see the dermatologist if you haven't already done so.

I don't have much advice. I do know that Neem Oil has a lot of healing properties and is a natural oil from the Neem tree in the wetlands. If you google it online you will find different websites or even find a store that may be local for you. It helps with acne and one of the websites professed it helps with Herpes Simplex, may not take it away right away but at the first sign you add a dab of the oil to the area and it helps it heal. It helped my daughter's acne within days. Won't hurt to try it.

Hi S.,
I feel for your little guy, and you. I have gotten cold sores for as long as I can remember, so I know how it feels. This is no help now, but they do seem to come less frequently over time. I am now getting over one, and I can't remember the last time I had one before.

The one thing I can offer is to ice the heck out of it the minute you see the redness begin. This last outbreak of mine never got to the blister stage because I happened to notice the red patch when I awoke in the morning, and went straight for the ice. I iced it for 20 minutes at a time throughout the day. The severe cold seems to shut down the blistering apparatus, leaving just the red bump. I then applied one of the over-the-counter cold sore remedies for the next couple of days. The area did get dry and flaky, but no painful blisters.
If it has already started to blister, still use the ice, as it will make the break-out less severe.

Good Luck

D.

An ointment with lemon balm extract will help and taking a tincture form internally will help--not cure it but reduce the symptoms. Lemon balm is a very mild anti-viral herb --no adverse side effects except for those with very low thyroid. It is also good against colds. The ointment was studied in Europe (where they are not so under the control of the big drug companies so they do more research on herbal remedies!)

I am a long time sufferer of cold sores. I used to get them at least four times a year. Sometimes they would be so bad they would cover my lip from the midline to the outer edge. Big HUGE blisters. It was so gross! I just recently grew out of it. I still get them occasionally, but not nearly as often and not nearly as bad. But, that's probably not much comfort to you since I'm 30 now!
How did the doctor test to make sure that it is Herpes Simplex I? It doesn't sound like that's what it is to me! My sores normally run about a week, maybe two for a really bad one. The biggest thing I was always told was HANDS OFF! I would constantly mess with them trying to get them to pop. (I know...gross). When I irritated them, it made it worse. I use Abreva at the first sign now, but I don't know if that would work on the face. You may want to contact a dermatologist. I don't think there is anything you can do to prevent it, but a dermatologist may be better equipped to deal with it than a regular doctor. Good luck to you and your little guy!!!

PS......is it more prevalent in the winter? If his cheeks are dry, the skin could crack and let little dirt particles in there. Maybe try a heavy lotion on his cheeks to keep them moisturized.

From what I have read it will follow him through life. Reduce any stress on him and keep it dry so it will heal faster. It is very contagious. It appears to be something you will just have to deal with.

hi S.,

Here's what I can tell you......make sure he drinks lots of water.......so he doesn't dehydrate. Avoid citrus fruit and nuts in his diet.....I'm in business for myself and we have products that are completely healthy. There is a couple things we can help you with and they are safe for a young child. We have no toxins or poisonous chemicals in our products. They would also help with the pain. If you are interested, please let me know. These products would also help you be more in control of this issue. I hope the little guy gets better. Poor baby.......you take care and try not to stress out to much.....hang in there.

My son is 5 years old and has the same thing, he started breaking out when he was just 1, and his has gotten so bad he usually gets it first beside his mouth and then he gets break outs on the top of his shoulders which is very painful they burn. His is herpes simplex 1, but it is the same thing it takes forever for the red to go away. It has been awhile since he had a shoulder break out but the mouth sores use to be once every 3 months or so, and know it is about every 2-3 weeks. The doctor put him on a ointment called zovirax and it helps dry it out, and bad break outs a antibotic called
acyclovir sus. I read you use lysine, can kids take and how often, I am up for any suggestions also, please contact me if you have any suggestions,
I was looking to see if there was anything out there to help prevent outbreaks, but the doctor told me this would be something we would deal with for ever. Crazy! Please email me if you have any suggestions
____@____.com P.

Hello, I'm so sorry to hear about your son! I have been getting cold sores since I was 7 and it's no fun. Recently, I found a medicine that really helps. It's called Novitra. As soon as he feels the area becoming tender like it's about to break out, apply the cream. You can put it on every couple hours. If you catch it right away, Novitra can actually prevent the sore from filling with fluid and swelling up! My kids got hand, foot and mouth disease (which is also a type of herpes strain) and I used Novitra on those sores and it really helped, so I think it could work for herpes simplex. It's worth a try, in my opinion! Once the sore actually fills up and becomes a sore, though, switch to a different medicine - Novitra is more a preventative treatment than a healing speeder.
Another thing - I find that heat worsens my cold sores. Especially when I'm sleeping. Try to make sure he sleeps with the sore off of the pillows, out of the blankets. Icing the area when he feels it coming on might also be helpful.
Best of luck in working out how to deal with all of this.
J.

I remember YEEEEEEARS ago when I had it and they had me use PEROXIDE. Yeah......I WELL remember it foaming up like and I Love Lucy episode, but I OBVIOUSLY was attacking the virus. Peroxide has PHENOMINAL properties and I use it on laundry and my teeth. You can even by a book about the medicinal qualities of peroxide, just like you can a book on vinegar.

KEEP UP THE LYSINE. Do your homework to KNOW which foods contains this amino and make SURE his diet is full of it! In addition, might want to cycle him on & off it (like I do echinachea) JUST to keep up his immune system. You could try one first and if it still pops up, add cycling the lysine in. You DONT have to be concerned about lysine as if he were taking drugs, etc. It's an amino acid.

His chemistry may deplete this for some unknown reason, or just not be able to absorb it or absorb it well. The more YOU learn, the more you can teach him so that he can keep a handle on it as he grows up

i haven't researched it... but i would try tea tree oil, and give him probiotics. just my thoughts...

i found a good homeopathic formula that's kind of like a skin lotion that you rub on, you might look for that.

Hi S.. When I was young I started to get cold sores so bad I would have to stay home from school... It was horrible and totally ruined my self esteem. But there is hope... I know its bad right now but the more you deal with it and learn, the better it will get. When i realized how much it spread if you touched it I changed the way I handled it. Absolutely hands off unless you are putting a cream on it. Ask the doctor, he gave me samples for my daughter when she was about 5. It helps keep it from spreading and heal. I was shocked when she got it. Obviously it was from me. I was always consious when I had an outbreak. Anyway, when I got older, my mom worked for a doctor and he told her to give me Valtrex. Its for genital herpes but it absolutely helped. It weird, Its almost like it builds up in your system and prevents you from outbreaks. If I do get one, Its only one little tiny one. I dont think kids can take it but you should start asking questions to your docter. And as he gets older, it will get easier, I promise. Start teaching him what not to do and look into the cream. Its called Zovirax. It helps her start the healing process alot faster. One more thing I noticed is that everytime I cry( hard) I get an outbreak. Weather affects it too. The extreme cold and also the sun. Anything that irritates my skin. I cant tan my face in the tanning bed...etc. As he gets older, you will know the triggers. Once you have the virus, you will always have it but you can handle it and control it also... They are always coming out with new things... Hang in there... I really think the outbreak is so bad for your son because hes touching it and spreading it... If he uses a washcloth on his face, it will spread to more areas. Buy those cotton pads to dab it and pitch them right away. The virus will stay on the cloth. Take care!

I take L-Lysine twice a day(under a lot of stress lately) and I double up the does 3 times a day when I feel a breakout coming on. This will prevent a breakout 90% of the time. I try to eat things like more potatoes and I use sunscreen on the area. I have had this since I was a child also. Be very careful of the new baby getting this from her older brother. My sister gets this too, not sure who gave it to us. I would try to get your son used to what it feels like when he feels a breakout coming on so you can nip it in the bud.

L. Etta, mother of a 6 year old girl and an 8 year old boy.