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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]years later, same question as her--been debating but it pains me to say we have decided we can't hire her.  We know of a mom who thought she was being careful with her own baby and gave the baby herpes of the eye, kissing her baby on a day when she had no active sore. She didn't realize that she could be contagious on other days too. As for the nanny, she showed up to the interview and I saw the sore which she said she gets with fever. I asked her if she had put any healing cream on it and she TOUCHED it and said yes. Touched her lip and put hands back down about to play with my one of my child's toys. You cannot assume someone is aware, thinking all the time about whether they left their water bottle within reach of your kids, etc. It's very very contagious and it's for life. Also anyone on here who says it is the same as chicken pox should just google their facts. It's pretty straight forward that they are not the same strain, chicken pox does not ever cause you  to get a cold sore. 20% of Americans have the virus, but 80% don't.  Our kids might get it once day, but right now, when they are so young, if we don't have to bring it into our family, we prefer not to. If one child gets it, then what--does he have to stop kissing the other child, or do you just decide to let everyone get it.  If you're kids get it orally, they are saddled with it forever and could pass to their spouses, or dates, orally OR genitally. [b]And it's NOT only contagious when there is an obvious sore, or it would not have spread to 20% of the population.[/b] In fact, most people will tell you they are not sure how they caught it because very few people will choose to kiss someone or have oral sex with someone with an oozing wound, nor will the person with the sore be that inconsiderate. The reason it is so common is that in 70% of those who have oral herpes, the virus "sheds" at least once/month on their skin without causing them a blister. That means the virus is present and can be caught by anyone who does not have the antibodies, but it's not strong enough to cause a blister at that moment in the carrier who already has antibodies fighting it from coming out as a blister. If you have herpes 1 or 2,  you can NEVER know for sure you are not contagious--you can only know certain days you for sure are contagious. [/quote]

If you are someone who does occasionally get a cold sore, then yes, I agree with what you are saying about having to be extra careful and how you can pass it on to someone else even if you are not showing symptoms.  But if you never ever get a cold sore, then the risk is practically nil that you will pass on the virus to someone else.  I can't say that you are 100% not contagious because one day, this person could have a cold sore and in that case, would be contagious (even before the blister appears), but for years or even decades, this person could be not contagious because the virus never reaches the skin (which is why they never have cold sores).

The reason the virus has spread to so much of the population is not just because it's contagious when it's asymptomatic, but also because it was just not a big deal in past generations.  When I was in elementary school, I used to go on a two week trip every summer with my church youth group and due to all the traveling, a lot of the kids broke out in cold sores.  It was considered NBD, kids would share food and cups and I'm sure the virus spread like crazy.  Our generation is much more aware and concerned about it and I wouldn't be surprised if the % of the population that has the virus goes down over time. [/quote]

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