To prevent the spread of cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus, avoid skin-to-skin contact, practice good hygiene habits, and take medication. This includes not touching the blister, washing hands, and not sharing personal items. Children with cold sores should be kept out of school and toys should be sanitized. Medications can help reduce pain and limit the size and number of sores.
To prevent a cold sore from spreading, you must take active steps to limit skin-to-skin contact, including not touching the blister. Since the virus can be passed on to others, practicing good hygiene habits and taking medications are usually key to preventing the spread of the disease. Also, how you prevent the spread may require different techniques when dealing with children rather than adults.
That blister or cluster of sores that pops up as a result of a tingling, itchy sensation on your skin means that you were exposed to the herpes simplex virus at some point in your past. These small blisters most often appear around the outer edges of the mouth, but can appear in other regions of the body, such as the nose or fingers, especially if you touch a blister and then rub your hands over your face without washing them. This is because these blisters are filled with a clear, contagious fluid. To stop the spread, take care to wash your hands after applying any medication directly to the cold sores and remember to keep your nails clean as well. Alternatively, you can use a disposable cotton ball or swab to apply the medication directly to the herpes sores.
When you have an active cold sore outbreak, the infection is also in your saliva, so you should be careful not to lick your contact lenses or you could end up with cold sore eyes, a much more serious condition. Because saliva contains the virus, you shouldn’t share any personal items with anyone else in the house, including utensils, glasses, and towels, to prevent cold sores from spreading. You can also practice good hygiene habits by washing these items thoroughly after each use. Since the virus likely got into your toothbrush or products applied directly to your lips, you should change your toothbrush and throw away any lip products you used while the infection was active to prevent reinfection.
To prevent the spread of cold sores, you should avoid direct contact. This includes avoiding oral sex if you have an active infection and not kissing. Such direct contact, however, does not only apply to intimate moments with sexual partners. You also need to avoid hugging, holding hands, and other forms of close or casual contact. Take, for example, an action as simple as a handshake. If you have a cold sore outbreak and recently touched your hand to the blister, those few seconds of touching may be enough to spread the virus.
For young children with draining cold sores, it may be best to keep them out of school, child care facilities, and playgroups until the blisters start to scab. If you apply ointment to cold sores, you should wear gloves to avoid spreading the infection to yourself. To prevent herpes from infecting other children, toys that the child puts into his mouth should not be shared with other children. Whether you borrow toys from a toy lending library, swap toys between friends and family, or rent toys, be sure to sanitize these items before your kids play with them and before you return to prevent cold sores from spreading.
Once a cold sore has appeared, it has to run its course. Medications that help dry the blisters and reduce intense itching can help you avoid picking at the sores and speed up healing so the sore is less likely to spread. Antiviral medications, for example, can help reduce pain and limit the size and number of sores to prevent them from spreading.
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