Can parent with herpes of the genitals and mouth pass the virus to a child through nonsexual contact?

I am a lawyer litigating a custody dispute in which my client (the father) is concerned because mom has genital herpes and oral herpes and he is concerned that she could pass the virus to the child during visitation because she sleeps with the child, kisses the child, has sores on her body at times and refuses to take precautions. Is this theory medically sound?Can parent with herpes of the genitals and mouth pass the virus to a child through nonsexual contact?
Wow, your client is a serious jacka$$. That is my professional opinion. He is a class a jacka$$. There are great reasons for one parent to have custody of a child over another, but this is NOT sound from a medical nor ETHICAL standpoint.





Here's why:





1. If mom has genital herpes, dad should be checked, too, with a strain-selective blood test. Otherwise, instead of mom and dad, you'll be litigating a case between pot and kettle.





2. 60% of all adults have oral herpes, and they get it often nonsexually as small children. Things as simple as kissing on the cheek, sharing sippy cups, slobbering on toys can all spread oral herpes. So in that sense, YES, mom can give cold sores to the kid. BUTut it's not a huge medical problem, and certainly not one that poses any real danger to the child. The chances of dad being able to protect the child from this ';scourge'; any better than mom are pretty slim. It's like saying that mom is an unfit parent because the kid catches the occasional cold.





3. Your ex-wife isn't going to be able to spread genital herpes to the kid by co-sleeping. She'd have to dry-hump the child for that to happen, in which case, you can pull the kid from the home on basis of sexual abuse (which makes for a better case for your client, anyway).





And that ETHICAL bit? Think this through, barrister, if you go forward with this case and somehow convince the judge that that parents wth cold sores are unfit to raise their children, then you set up a HIDEOUS precedent by which a VAST MAJORITY of people could stand to lose their kids.





Like I said earlier, about 60% (a little less than two out of three) of all adults have the virus that causes cold sores. Not all of them have outbreaks of cold sores, but they can still be contagious. And it's not as if reckless behavior led them to catch this virus. If you were talking about a meth addiction or Munchausen's by Proxy, then you'd have cause to remove the kid. But as it stands, your argument is weak. Chances are, your judge has had cold sores at some point, and s/he's just going to scoff at you.





You should call an expert witness if you really want to make this case, but seriously, a real doctor would probably just laugh at you and bill you for the consultation. btw, are you billing your client for the time you spend on Y!A? Wouldn't you have been better off consulting a physician instead?Can parent with herpes of the genitals and mouth pass the virus to a child through nonsexual contact?
Simply put yes. If she has a cold sore or not, the virus is always present and she has a chance to pass it on to the child. Even when there isn't a cold sore, there is what's known as viral shedding.





During viral shedding the herpes virus makes its home in the nerve cells of an infected person. At times, the virus travels along the nerves up to the surface of the skin. This process is called ';viral shedding,'; or just ';shedding.';





During shedding, the virus can be passed on to others by direct skin-to-skin contact, especially from anal, oral, or vaginal sex. Sometimes shedding is accompanied by symptoms, such as the characteristic herpes blisters.





But sometimes shedding occurs without any noticeable symptoms; this is referred to as ';asymptomatic shedding.';





Hope this helps. Good Luck!!!!
As a lawyer don't you have medical personnel you can consult?


Yes, the theory is medically sound.
There are very good answers on here, but you should talk to a OBGYN and get a doctors statement for this to hold up in court.