Mum Says Baby ‘Could Have Died’ After Getting A Kiss From A Visitor

A mum’s Facebook post warning not to let people kiss their baby on the mouth has been shared 37,000 times.

Claire Henderson gave birth to Brooke about a month ago, and as is the way when a little treasure is brought into the world, many people stopped by to take a look and say hello.

One visitor, however, came carrying to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). The virus causes cold sores and can be passed on via oral-to-oral contact.

Henderson had read an article whilst she was pregnant warning of the dangers of cold sores on babies. So when she noticed Brooke had a cold sore and swollen lips she whisked her straight to the hospital.

“If she had been left it could have easily spread and — worst case — been fatal,” Henderson said.

Henderson had done the right thing by taking Brooke to hospital, if a baby contracts a cold sore in their first month of life it can lead to “severe neurological disease” or death. Although, having said that, most babies aren’t at risk as they carry antibodies from their mothers.

 

Henderson posted her story to Facebook, hoping to inform other parents of the dangers of letting strangers kiss your baby on the mouth. She said:

“Please share this with every new mum and pregnant woman you know… COLD SORES CAN BE FATAL FOR A BABY. Before 3 months old a baby cannot fight the herpes virus. If a baby contracts this it can cause liver and brain damage and lead to death. I know this sounds like I am scaremongering but if my friend had not told me about this my baby girl could have been very seriously ill. I noticed the signs early and got her to A&E, we have now been in hospital on a drip for 3 days and have got another 2 to go. She was VERY lucky, all her tests came back clear. The moral of the story is DO NOT let anyone kiss your newborns mouth, even if they don’t look like they have a cold sore- 85% of the population carry the virus. And if someone had a cold sore ask them to stay away until it has gone. Everyone who I have spoken to had not heard of this before and so I felt it was important to share Brooke’s story and raise awareness to stop anyone else going through what we have this week.”

Brooke was put on an anti-viral drip for five days, but thankfully she is now doing well.