Ok today in the morning my dad showed me
some red bumps on his back ...I told him
they might have been an allergic reaction
to something so I put some aloe vera on it
touching it directly...Then later today he
went to the doctors and they told him he
has herpes.......I have a couple
questions.....
1 what are the chances I can get herpes
2 my dad didnt say how he got it, but
could it have been sexually, because hes a
truck driver and hes a lonely man I
guess....Or maybe another way by like food
or something?
3 can herpes go away?
Thank you I appreciate it
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ERICA83
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Mar 2004 Posts: 738 Location: clinton twp, MI
Posted: 06-13-04 20:28pm
K well the only way herpes can be passed
is either sexually or if you kiss someone
or share an eating utensil or w/e with
someone who has a cold sore on their lip
or in their mouth. And no herpes does not
go away .Ever. It can be treated with
medication but there is not cure for it.
Im not too sure on the chances that you
could have gotten it. Did you have any
cuts on your hands? Did you put your
hands near your eyes or mouth? I really
hope that you washed your hands after
applying the cream to his back. I think
your best bet would be to go to your
doctor and tell them to give you a blood
test for type 1 and type 2 herpes. Type 1
is oral and type 2 is genital. Some docs
will say you need an outbreak to be
diagnosed but thats just a bunch of bs.
They can tell just by taking a blood test.
I wouldnt panic too much though. Good
luck. Keep us posted. ~ erica.
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pollo
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 9 Location: pollo
Posted: 06-13-04 20:41pm
Thanks a lot.........How bad of a disease
is this?...Can I still hug my dad,shake
his hand, just live normally or is this
really gonna affect our lives?
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ERICA83
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Mar 2004 Posts: 738 Location: clinton twp, MI
Posted: 06-13-04 23:37pm
Sorry lol wasnt tryin 2 scare ya. It's
not that bad although I dont have it so I
cant really say I know it can be painfula
nd annoying for people who do have it.
There are so many new medications out
there that your father could go for like
10 years w/o having any symptoms that
probably why he didnt even know he had it
to begin with. Statistics say that about
90% of people who do have herpes dont know
it because they have no symptoms. It
causes no long term effects or any other
health problems, but of course you can
still have casual contact with him. Just
be sure that you dont eat or drink off of
him just to be on the safe side. It isn't
that contagious until like I said be4
intercourse is involved or if you touch a
open sore and then touch yourself. Just
be careful thats all otherwise keep
treating him as your father like a normal
person as you've always done. Just type
in herpes in your search bar and you can
find out alot of helpful information. ~
erica.
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pollo
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 9 Location: pollo
Posted: 06-14-04 01:52am
Thanks a lot...I appreciate it a lot
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2ferano
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 3717
Posted: 06-16-04 03:41am
Well if it was on his back then it is
shingles. It is from the herpes virus,
but is not sexually transmitted.
My mother gets them all of the time.
They are big red sores that itch and hurt
really badly. You can get them from
touching them directly, or using a bath
towel that came in contact with them, etc.
So you do need to be careful.
My mother and I have different colored
towels so that I never use the same towel
as her. I definately do not want that.
Shingles are just like any other type of
herpes in that the virus is always in your
body once you have them. They can be
triggered by stress the same as genital
herpes.
It is possible that you got it. Not to
scare you. But it doesn't mean that you
definately did.
You can still hug your dad and everything,
but just dont touch the sores directly.
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Natalie112
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 65
Posted: 06-17-04 04:14am
Shingles is a form of herpes, herpes
zoster. Shingles is caused by the chicken
pox virus that remains in your system and
may resurface in later years on the base
of the spine where neurons are present.
For most people, once someone has an
outbreak of shingles, they most likely
build an immunity to the virus and never
display it again. Some immune-compromised
people may have reoccurances. There are
many anti-viral prescriptions out there,
to help minimize an outbreak. The most
popular one is acyclovir which can be
obtained by a physician. Hope this
helped. Best of luck to you and your dad.
Natalie
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2ferano
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 3717
Posted: 06-17-04 04:22am
Natalie...I have a question. My mother
has been getting shingles for the last
thirty years. She has not been able to
find anything to help with them. Well,
the creams ease her pain a little, but she
cannot find anything to keep them from
recurring. She is on valtrex now, but it
really doesn't work for her at all.
She doesn't have shingles all of the time,
but she does get them quite often, and
they really hurt her.
Any suggestions? I read that b12 may
help. I read about a couple of other
herbs too, but I am just not sure.
If you can help, please do.
Also, I posted on one of the birth control
posts last night that you had posted on.
You told the girl that she did not have to
take her pill at the same time everyday.
I disagreed with you, but I was wrong and
I am sorry. I don't remember which post
that was though, so I cannot fix it!
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Natalie112
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 65
Posted: 06-18-04 00:32am
It sounds like your mom has postherpetic
neuralgia. This occurs when the shingles
virus causes damage and regrowth of nerves
and as a result these nerves now become
extremely sensitive to pain. If valtrex
has not been working for your mother, then
she should see her physician and see if
possibly she can start another medication.
A couple of other herpes/shingles
medications are acyclovir (zovirax) and
famciclovir (famvir). Even though valtrex
is widely used, it isn't for everyone.
There are also other forms of pain
medication which she could take. There
are tricyclic anitdepressants such as
amitril, endep, norpramin, and tofranil
which basically increase some of the
brains chemicals that may affect how the
brain perceives pain. There is also
opioids (morphine-type medications),
gabapentin (mainly used for the treatment
of epileptic seizures), and
lidocaine/capsaicin creams which will help
numb the skin. If she continues to stay
on valtrex or even switches to another
medication, she may want to consider
combining it with corticosteroids, such as
prednisone, or hydrocortisone. Thiamine
(vitamin b-1) is thought to reduce the
symptoms brought on by shingles, but is
not a proven form of treatment. I hope
this provided some insight and hope that
your mom finds some form of effective
treatment.
Thank your for your apology on the birth
control response. I am here to help
people, and would never say anything if I
was unsure of. Therefore all my responses
are based on the knowledge that I possess.
Best of luck with your mom.
Natalie
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2ferano
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 3717
Posted: 06-18-04 15:50pm
Thank you natalie. I will give this to
my mom and see what works for her!
Thanks again...
