Uh, need halp, anyone knows what this is?

[Alex K]

soo ehh, odd question but if it's so damn common should one even avoid trying to transmit it to others?
It seems as if it's very easy to spread.

Just don't kiss anyone while it is blooming, try to avoid touching your face, and wash your hands. There is antiviral balm you should put on it, but if you're not sure, you should go see a dermatologist to get it checked out anyways.

I had one while my daughter was just a few weeks old, and that really sucked because it can be dangerous to infants. So my wife had to do all the diaper stuff, and I was wearing a protective mouth surgical mask around her until it had healed, at which point the acute danger of passing it on becomes lower. The virus is usually hidden in reservoirs, and when the immune system is compromised, it creeps down the facial nerves to strongly innervated regions in the face and comes to the surface.

Fun fact: because herpes is a DNA virus, it can enter the germ line and become an endogenous virus, a feat that usually only retroviruses can achieve. I think the first documented case of herpes being passed on as part of human dna was just a few years ago.