The risk of transmission of many infectious diseases, including Herpes Simplex, is increased when infants are exposed to blood products from open sores, blisters, and/or cracked and bleeding skin that enter the breastmilk. Precautions need to be taken especially with infants under one year of age.1
If you have sores on your nipple, you should not breastfeed your baby on that breast. Pump or express your milk by hand from that breast until the sore is gone. Be sure the parts of your breast pump that touch the milk do not touch the sore while pumping and are thoroughly cleaned after usage. ACOG suggests that if this happens, the milk should be thrown away.2 Otherwise, expressed milk can be used because there is no concern about these infectious organisms passing through the milk.3
Please disclose any open lesions to the recipient and see a healthcare provider if there are any concerns and/or if this is a primary outbreak. Donors should also be aware of the fact that they may not know the status of their partner. Regular blood screening is recommended by milk banks. Recipients should be aware that they, too, can contaminate donor milk if they have any lesions on their bodies.
Please also see medication and open sores, blisters, and/or cracks on the skin.
Please see How can breastmilk be pasteurized at home? for more information on heat-treating and pathogens.
_______________
- CDC – Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV ↩︎
- ACOG – Genital Herpes ↩︎
- AAP. 2012. Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk
↩︎
