Should a friend of the family kiss a baby on the lips?
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It’s scary to think something as simple as a kiss from a stranger could harm a baby, but it’s true.
United Kingdom resident, and new mom, Claire Henderson, said her infant daughter, Brooke, nearly died after she contracted oral herpes from a visitor’s kiss.
The newborn also developed sores in the back of her throat and on her lips, Claire wrote. Henderson immediately rushed her baby to the hospital. Doctors confirmed the gravity of the situation and said she was right to have acted so quickly. “It’s really scary that it’s not more publicized”. Now she’s asking others to share her story so that they might have the chance to save another baby should this happen to them. Some present with a fever and cold sores before becoming “very sick” with seizures.
The little girl spent 3 days in hospital on a drip and a further 2 days under observation, after her mum’s friend recognised the signs of the virus and told Claire to rush her to A&E.
In rare cases it can get into a baby’s bloodstream and cause meningitis.
Whilst coldsores may not prove to be a significant health problem for adults, babies, particularly those under the age of 6 weeks, have weaker immune systems, meaning that the herpes virus can cause complications including brain and liver damage.
Most babies however tend to not be at risk because they have antibodies from their mothers. Henderson believes one visitor was infected with the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1).
HSV infection in newborn babies can be very severe, potentially affecting the brain, sparking lung and liver disease or skin and eye sores. As scary as that sounds, what’s even more shocking is how she got it: from a kiss on the face.
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Claire Henderson, a new mother from Doncaster, England, shared the shocking photos on Facebook on September 16. I can only imagine how I would’ve reacted if I saw this then.
