Cold sore: how to protect baby?

Any adult with a cold sore or herpes labialis is contagious to those around him. But fortunately, the probability of infecting an infant is low and preventable. The advice of Dr Jean Lalau Keraly, pediatrician, and France Viroux, doctor of pharmacy.

Not to be confused with angular cheilitis

And And when the mother has cold sores: what to do?

What if the mother is breastfeeding?

“The cold sore is exceptional in a baby,” says Dr. Jean Lalau Keraly. In 30 years of career, I have not seen any It is, most of the time, angular chelitis.

Not to be confused with angular cheilitis

Perleche is an infection located at the corner of the lips. “It is due to a streptococcus or a staphylococcus. Angular chelitis is favored by the pacifier which leads to hypersalivation, and by milk and sugar. How to treat it? “It is important to clean the mouth well after each meal and to apply a local antibiotic ointment or an ointment based on zinc oxide”, recommends the pediatrician.

There is also gingivo-stomatitis which is characterized by red and swollen gums, blisters in the mouth, fever. “This infection is often due to foot-hand-mouth syndrome in small children,” explains the pediatrician. “More rarely, gingivo-stomatitis is the expression of a primary infection with the herpes virus”, adds France Viroux, doctor of pharmacy.

And when the mother has cold sores: what to do?