Now I may be a bit thick, or at least slow on the uptake. However a thought struck me last week.
If you’re anything like me, you will have
- Extractor fans, giving at least 10 air changes per hour (mine is about 19 ACH)
- Gowns (washable, single-use, or both)
- Visors
- Gloves
- FFP3 masks, respirators, hoods, etc
- Hand-washing/ sanitising etc
- Enhanced environmental cleaning
All this to deal with the threat of the Corona virus which you may have heard of at some point in the last 7 months or so.
But I had a patient for routine examination and hygiene at the end of the day last week who had a cold sore.
This got me thinking.
Ordinarily, we are encouraged to reappoint such patients a week or 2 into the future to avoid the risk of spreading HSV-1 (or indeed HSV-2 and no sniggering at the back). But with all the gear to mitigate the risk of Covid-19, surely there is no need to delay treatment for someone with a cold sore? After all, the majority of people with HSV 1 or 2 in their saliva do not have symptoms, just like about 40% of Covid positive people.
Just a thought.