Nigel:
I stand corrected on the transmission issue. However, it seems that according to your source we are dealing with Herpes Simplex type 1 "HSV Type 1 infections are tiny, clear, fluid-filled blisters that most often occur on the face" taken from your link, the common cold sore, which millions of Americans suffer from, it simply occurs in another location (generally the forehead due to wounds that wrestlers often have there). What you are saying is that anyone that is exposed to the HSV type 1 should self exclude themself from competition.
Your source states that "Most people get Type 1 infections during infancy or childhood. They usually catch it from close contact with family members or friends who carry the virus. It can be transmitted by kissing, sharing eating utensils, or by sharing towels." Does this mean that we should test all the kids wrestlers before they are allowed to wrestle since most cases are contracted during infancy or childhood?

According to the article posted at http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1006.htm
the herpes simplex is considered a "ubiquitous" pathogen. This means a disease that almost everyone is exposed to. In fact 50% of people in a high socioeconomic class produce antibodies and 80% of those in lower Socioeconomic classes produce antibodies. Based on your arguement that those that are exposed should "self exclude" themselves, very few people would be left to compete.

I do think that we should make every effort to keep participants safe, but having kids stop wrestling because they contracted a disease they probably have had since childhood seems ridiculous to me. As long as coaches, parents, and competitors make every attempt to keep athletes safe, there should be no problem. Nigel, you said it yourself in an earlier post: "A simple cold sore on the mouth is not in my mind something that terrible." What does it matter if the cold sore pops up on your mouth or your forehead if it is the same virus. Get treatment, wait for it to go away, and get back to wrestling.

If you are truly that worried about it, I would make sure you don't go kissing any girls or sharing a fork with anybody.

Thought I would bump this old discussion..."Why?" you ask?

Well, apparently because it's the weekend of the state tournament, the Wrestling Gods have decided to bestow upon me a heinous case of The Herp, right beneath my eye. The Gift that Keeps on Giving.

Thanks for reminding me that I was a wrestler, Wrestling Gods. You owe me $20 for the 70 pills I have to take, as well as whatever it's going to cost to see an opthalmologist, who will tell me whether this herpes is going to attack my optic nerve and make me blind in my right eye.

Thanks, Salina South!

After reading through all of these posts, I must conclude that this is total insanity. Unfortunately, although preventative measures are taken, it is inherent to the sport that outbreaks occur from time to time. To accuse a coach of knowingly spreading a disease only adds insult to injury. It is equally insulting to question the moral standards of a coach who continues to practice with their wrestlers if they knowingly have HSV in remission. I realize that some would argue that the virus could still be exposed even without an outbreak, but according to the articles posted, it is even more likely that everyone has already been exposed to the virus as a child, wrestler or not. It seems to me that it is totally an over-reaction to recommend that anyone who has the virus exclude themselves from wrestling indefinitely. Why not voluntarily live inside of a plastic bubble while you are at it, that way you can be absolutely positive that you are not exposing anyone to the "cooties". I think a better solution would be to follow the existing guidelines and not allow people to wrestle if they have open sores or "active" infections. If anyone has a problem with that, they should probably not be wrestling in the first place, because these are the same people who make too big of a deal out of things and cry foul, which in turn only adds to the negative images surrounding the sport. Don't get me wrong, I have been fortunate enough to avoid contracting a virus (as far as I know, according to what I have read) and I realize that it would totally suck to be in that situation, but it is a risk that I am aware of and willing to accept. Just my opinion...