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| Name: mommyagain | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 5:49 PM |
| I AM VERY SORRY TO HEAR THIS. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT I WILL HAVE TO LOOK IT UP. ↑ |
| Name: jillw | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 6:31 PM |
| what did the dr say could happen to the baby? From what I know CMV is a stran of the herpies virus and is pretty harmless to most people unless you have HIV or AIDS. I believe that the stats are around 80% of the population are infected. Most people do not exhibit any symptoms. Infection happens through direct contact. Since it is a virus there is no cure, but there are anti viral meds that can be taken. I guess my question is what symptoms are you having and did your dr tell you that transmision to your un born baby can be prevented, but you will prob give it to him/her at some stage in life jsut by touching and doing regular mom stuff. ↑ |
| Name: agnesa | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 6:47 PM |
| None of docs I have seen so far metioned anti viral medication. They believe the virus can be deadly for the baby ( before the birth), and the risks are high. I am having no symptoms- I learnt about it through a blood test. I am feeling fine and the baby is doing fine at this stage. It is so hard to be thinking about termination with these facts. Thank you for your response. ↑ |
| Name: Mom2Be2007 | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 6:58 PM |
| Okay since I did not know what CMV was I went online and this is what I had found. Doesn't sound like it's deadly to a fetus but it can cause alot of other health issues in the long run. Cytomegalovirus * Cytomegalovirus (CMV) [si-to-MEG-uh-lo-vi-rus] is a virus that infects most people worldwide. * CMV spreads from person to person by direct contact. * Although CMV infection is usually harmless, it can cause severe disease in persons with weakened immune systems. * There is no treatment for CMV infection. * Prevention centers on good personal hygiene, especially frequent handwashing. What is cytomegalovirus? Cytomegalovirus, or CMV, is a common virus that infects most people worldwide. CMV infection is usually harmless and rarely causes illness. A healthy immune system can hold the virus in check. However, if a person's immune system is seriously weakened in any way, the virus can become active and cause CMV disease. What is the infectious agent that causes cytomegalovirus infection? Cytomegalovirus is a member of the herpesvirus family. Other members of the herpesvirus family cause chickenpox, infectious mononucleosis, fever blisters, and genital herpes. These viruses all share the ability to remain alive, but dormant, in the body for life. A first infection with CMV usually causes no symptoms. The virus continues to live in the body silently without causing obvious damage or illness. It rarely becomes active for the first time or reactivates (causes illness again in the same person) unless the immune system weakens and is no longer able to hold the virus in check. Where is cytomegalovirus found? CMV is found worldwide. The virus is carried by people and is not associated with food, water, or animals. How do people get infected with cytomegalovirus? CMV is spread from person to person. Any person with a CMV infection, even without symptoms, can pass it to others. In an infected person, the virus is present in many body fluids, including urine, blood, saliva, semen, cervical secretions, and breast milk. CMV can be spread by any close contact that allows infected body fluids to pass to another person. CMV can spread in households and child-care centers through hand-to-mouth contact with infected body fluids. CMV can spread by sexual contact, blood transfusions, organ transplants, and breastfeeding. CMV can also be passed from an infected pregnant woman to her fetus or newborn. Who is at risk for cytomegalovirus? Anyone can become infected with CMV. Almost all people have been exposed to CMV by the time they are adults, but the virus usually does not make otherwise healthy people sick. However, some people are at increased risk for active infection and serious complications: * Babies born to women who have a first-time CMV infection during pregnancy * Pregnant women who work with infants and children * Persons with weakened immune systems, including cancer patients on chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, and persons with HIV infection What are the signs and symptoms of cytomegalovirus? Active infection in otherwise healthy children and adults can cause prolonged high fever, chills, severe tiredness, a generally ill feeling, headache, and an enlarged spleen. Most infected newborns have no symptoms at birth, but, in some cases, symptoms will appear over the next several years. These include mental and developmental problems and vision or hearing problems. In rare cases, a newborn can have a life-threatening infection at birth. Infants and children who get CMV infection after birth have few, if any, symptoms or complications. When symptoms do appear, they include lung problems, poor weight gain, swollen glands, rash, liver problems, and blood problems. People with weakened immune systems can have more serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses, with fever, pneumonia, liver infection, and anemia. Illnesses can last for weeks or months and can be fatal. In persons with HIV infection, CMV can infect the retina of the eye (CMV retinitis) and cause blindness. How soon after exposure do symptoms appear? Most exposed people never develop symptoms. In those who do, the time between exposure and symptoms is about 3 to 12 weeks. How is cytomegalovirus diagnosed? There are special laboratory tests to culture the virus, but testing requires 2 to 3 weeks and is expensive. Blood tests can help diagnose infection or determine if a person has been exposed in the past. How long does disease from CMV infection last? The duration of disease varies, depending on the type of infection and the age and health of the infected person. Serious CMV infections that were acquired before birth can cause developmental problems that can affect a child for a lifetime. CMV infections in transplant recipients, cancer patients, and persons with HIV infection can be life threatening and require many weeks of hospital treatment. On the other hand, infections in young adults might cause symptoms for only 2 to 3 weeks. What is the treatment for cytomegalovirus? There is no specific treatment or cure for CMV infection. Anti-virus medicines can be helpful in treating CMV retinitis in persons with HIV infection. How common is cytomegalovirus? CMV is common worldwide. An estimated 80% of adults in the United States are infected with CMV. CMV is also the virus most often transmitted to a developing fetus before birth. Is cytomegalovirus an emerging infectious disease? Yes. Increasing numbers of persons are at risk for CMV infection. Expanding use of child-care centers is increasing the risk to children and staff. Also, the number of people with weakened immune systems is growing because of increases in HIV infection, organ transplantation, and cancer chemotherapy. How can cytomegalovirus be prevented? CMV is widespread in the community. The best way to prevent infection is to practice good personal hygiene. Wash hands often with soap and warm water. Avoid mouth contact with the body fluids of young children. This fact sheet is for information only and is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health-care provider. If you have any questions about the disease described above or think that you may have cytomegalovirus infection, consult a health-care provider. ↑ |
| Name: agnesa | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 7:25 PM |
| I read the same article online. But I don't know what it means in practice. The theory is very far away from what doctors share about the cases they had in past. It seems like the virus is not dangerious if is discovered before the pregnancy. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 7:37 PM |
| What is cytomegalovirus? Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a member of the herpes virus family. It's the virus most frequently passed on to babies during pregnancy and can cause hearing loss and other problems in children who contract it in the womb. What could happen if I get CMV? It depends on when you first catch the virus. Between 50 and 80 percent of women already have CMV before they get pregnant. Like other herpes viruses, it remains dormant in your body after your initial infection but can become reactivated if your immune system is compromised, resulting in what's known as a recurrent CMV infection. Fortunately, the risk of passing the virus to your baby during a recurrent infection is very low (less than 1 percent), and the risk of serious complications is even lower. So if you got your first CMV infection at least 6 months before you conceived, the risk to your baby from CMV is very small. If you're one of the 1 to 3 percent of women who get CMV for the first time while they're pregnant, though, your chance of passing the infection to your baby is much higher (one in three), and your baby, in turn, has a much higher chance of developing serious complications. About 80 to 90 percent of babies who get CMV this way develop problems such as hearing or vision loss, mental retardation, and coordination difficulties within their first few years. Even infected babies who seem healthy at birth can develop problems later, most commonly hearing loss. How is CMV transmitted? CMV can be spread by contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, such as saliva, urine, feces, semen, vaginal secretions, blood, tears, and breast milk. You can get it from direct contact like mouth-to-mouth kissing or sharing eating utensils, by touching an infected fluid and then touching your mouth or nose, or by having sex with an infected person. An infected woman can transmit the virus to her baby in several ways: through the placenta during pregnancy, when her baby comes in contact with infected fluids at birth, or through infected breast milk after delivery. Fortunately, most babies who contract CMV during birth or from breast milk develop few or no symptoms, so the benefits of vaginal delivery and breastfeeding outweigh any risks for women with CMV infection. How can I tell if I have CMV and what should I do about it? Pregnant women are not regularly screened for CMV in the United States, but you can take a blood test to see if you have antibodies to the virus. If you don't already have the virus, you'll want to be extra careful to avoid getting infected (see below). Unfortunately, a new CMV infection is hard to recognize because most people don't develop any symptoms. Those who do tend to have flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, swollen glands, fatigue, and achiness. If you suspect you've recently been exposed to CMV, let your practitioner know so you can get a series of blood tests to make the diagnosis. If the tests show that you've had a recent infection, you'll get a thorough sonogram to look for problems in your developing baby. You may also have amniocentesis to see if your baby is infected, though the test doesn't pick up all cases of congenital CMV and won't be able to tell if your baby is mildly or severely infected. Unfortunately, there's no treatment for CMV (though a vaccine is in the works). How can I avoid getting CMV while I'm pregnant? If you don't know for sure that you already have the CMV virus, it's a good idea to do what you can to avoid getting it during your pregnancy. Unfortunately, you're most at risk of picking it up from your own children, if you have any. In any case, here are a few things you can do to avoid infection: • Wash your hands often, especially when you're around young children or people with weakened immune systems. (Soap and water is all you need to kill the virus.) • Be careful when handling items such as diapers or tissues that may contain others' bodily fluids, and wash your hands thoroughly after disposing of them. (Daycare workers are at especially high risk for CMV and should use disposable latex gloves when changing diapers and be sure to wash their hands immediately afterward.) • Don't share food, eating utensils, or drinking glasses. • If you aren't in a mutually monogamous relationship, practice safe sex by using latex condoms and avoiding oral sex. ↑ |
| Name: Mom2Be2007 | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 7:40 PM |
| I am thinking it depends on how active the virus is and what strand of CMV it is...Which is probably what your doctor will determine in a couple of days. Also sounds like an anti-viral med could help slow it. So maybe discuss this with your doctor as well. ↑ |
| Name: jillw | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 7:55 PM |
| can I ask how it was discovered and why your dr tested for it? It is not commonly tested for. As long as you didn't get the "active" infection while you were pregnant then there is very very little risk to the baby. Did the dr say that he thinks that you are having a "flairup" (dormate virus reactivates) or does he think that you have just recently contracted it? I am so sorry I wish I knew more about this subject. ↑ |
| Name: agnesa | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 8:08 PM |
| Since I had a miscarriage 9 months ago, my gyn wanted me to get tested for all possible tests out there. I did, and everything was fine besides this one. The numbers have gone up in the past week which makes him believe the virus is active and I contracted during the pregnancy. I am going for DNA test on Monday to see if the results will point out to primary or secondary virus. Secondary means reactivation of an old virus and in that would be a positive case scenario for me. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 8:10 PM |
| my last post i just did i made a copy from a website all about this virus during pregnancy!!!!! ↑ |
| Name: jillw | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 8:18 PM |
| Ok I understand now Good luck ↑ |
| Name: agnesa | Date: Dec 15th, 2006 8:22 PM |
| Thank you very much for all your comments. I appreciate your responses. ↑ |
| Name: lana_81 | Date: Dec 17th, 2006 11:34 AM |
| Its amazing how little we know about common viris that are around.. And that we never hear of them till we or someone close to us gets them.. I was 37 wks pregnant with my first and the doctor told me I have toxoplasmosis... I freaked out casue I didnt know what it was.. Its so common though and causes misscarage and deformaties in babys.. Lucky I must have got it before I got pregnant working at the meatworks or gardening near cat poo.. I didnt know anything about it though untill I got it.. My son had a bug last year(cryptospreidiosis) that kills thousands of people in 3rd world countrys but I had never heard it till he got it..Amazing really how little we know about every day things.. ↑ |
| Name: bmes | Date: Dec 17th, 2006 4:13 PM |
| i know...sometimes i get mad a my husband cause he's always so paranoid of dieases and viruses, but because of his paranoia he's always looking on the net and looking up different ones and what causes them, and if he hadn't done that, we would have never known about that toxoplamosis, or whatever its called. And he always makes sure he cleans out the kitty litter box instead of me. LOL....and the other day, his boss wanted him climb under the trailer at work and fix some leak or something and he was like NO WAY....he knew there were lots of mice and rats under there and you can get that hennavirus (sp?) i think it's called...i don;t know what its called.....but it's extremely deadly! you get it from their poop!! One thing at laugh at him about though is he will NEVER touch ANYTHING in a doctors office. No magazines, no door handles...nothing....lol...and when he leaves he always put that hand sanitizer on him that they have in the office. LOL....what a freak!!! ↑ |
| Name: sweet tomorrow | Date: Dec 17th, 2006 9:33 PM |
| At my next appointment I am going to ask to be tested for this. Because I work with the elderly. So I'm worried. I use Latex gloves and wear masks but still just a precaution ↑ |
| Name: lana_81 | Date: Dec 18th, 2006 11:52 AM |
| They dont test you for enough i dont think. I wouldnt have known about this if I hadnt got sick with something elce and they tested me for alot of things.. Have you ever had a cold sore?? I had them heaps as a kid and none in older life but my daughter got heaps in her mouth and around it and I found out 75% of people have this viris and dont even know about it.. they dont have symptoms, but can pass it on by kissing near the mouth.. My kids seem to get everything from daycare, last year they had hand foot and mouth! I thought that was a cow thing.. How silly am i?lol ↑ |
| Name: missmara | Date: Dec 18th, 2006 2:06 PM |
| Haha!! My daughter had hand, foot, mouth when she was 3 months old, and I was like WTF is that???? It was horrible - landed her in the ER. ↑ |
