Our son is freaking out and demanding that we can no longer take our 6 yr old granddaughter to see friends or other family members if they have ever had a cold sore. I tried giving him the facts, that she is safe with us but even he can’t control what she exposed to in school.
What has set him off is he works construction and says 90% of the guys the have cold sores and think it’s funny or just don’t care if they expose others. He began researching it and the fact that it’s a form of herpes has sent him over the edge. He’s seeing these sensationalized pics of individuals with horrible outbreaks and believes that it will cause her to become depressed, suicidal, etc.. if she were to get it.
I’ve trie explaining that a large portion of our population already have a form of herpes(if exposed to chicken pox), laying dormant in our systems. That stress and other factors can allow it to surface but it s treatable and if one is responsible, not transferable. I’ve pointed out that on construction jobs(he’s working on the rebuild in St.Thomas), your body is exposed to harsh sun and long hours. This causes the bodies immune system to struggle thus possibly allowing the virus to become active. Many of the sites say it also contagious thru hugs, handshakes. I can’t get him to understand that’s because the individual unconsciously touches their own face and doesn’t wash hands and touches other parts of their own body.
Sorry, I’ve rambled but HELP! How can I ease his fears.