This mums warning to parents is just heartbreaking
A mum has warned parents not to kiss their babies on the lips after a coldsore nearly killed her daughter.
New mam, Claire Henderson, posted a heartfelt update on Facebook after her newborn daughter was kissed on her lips while they had coldsores.
Luckily the new mum spotted something was wrong with her daughter, Brooke, and rushed her to A&E for treatment before the virus fatally harmed the newborn.
Claire, said “We have now been in hospital on a drip for three days and have got another two to go. She was VERY lucky, all her tests came back clear.”
Cold sores are raised and oozing sores or blisters on or close to the lips or inside the mouth, caused by a strain of herpes simplex viruses (HSVs).
And Claire warns other new parents that babies younger than three months are unable to fight the herpes virus, which can cause liver and brain damage and lead to death in tots.
Anyone with an active strain of the herpes virus – cold sores, genital sores, shingles and chicken pox – should handle newborns with extreme care, as if it gets into the bloodstream it can go to the brain and cause a fatal type of meningitis.
Claire’s post, which has been shared more than 34,000 times, says: “I know this sounds like I am scaremongering but if my friend had not told me about this my baby girl could have been seriously ill. The moral of the story is DO NOT let ANYONE kiss your newborn’s mouth, even if they don’t look like they have a cold sore. 85% of the population carry the virus. And if someone has a cold sore ask them to stay away until it has gone.”
In a final plea she writes: “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.”
