i agree with your doctor. herpes simplex (cold sores) are typically only contagious and transmitted during a active outbreak. since millions of people on this planet have latent herpes virus in their system those children will be eventually exposed by someone. a classmate or day-care cohort. most likely sometime in their lives. should they get it it will not likely be from a loving grandmother who just wants to kiss her grandchildren. new parents are worried about everything but this is one virus that is unlikely to come from you. about 50% of the people who get one cold sore will never get another the rest of their lives so should we advise they never to kiss another person? most people like you can have periodic outbreaks but the infrequency of your events show that you have an excellent immune system that is suppressing this virus. my advice for you is to kiss those grandchildren when you do not have an outbreak and my advice for your daughter is to "get real". a grandmother's love cures more boo-boos and i suspect your kisses will be risk-free.
i had a cold sore once. can this be passed on to my grandchildren if they kiss me or drink or eat after me? . a few times in y 64 yrs when i have had a cold sore. can i pass this to my grandchildren by kissing or letting them drink after me. my physician said i would have to have an outbreak for the children to catch it from me. my daughter doesn't believe it and the babies are always wanting to kiss grammie please help as i feel like they will be fine i kissed my own babies (5 of them) they drank after me no one ever got a cold sore.