A devastated mother has urged parents to ban relatives and friends from kissing their babies — after her toddler contracted a debilitating virus that cost him his left eye.
Two-year-old Juwan lost sight in the eye after a kiss from an acquaintance transferred the herpes virus to his eyeball.
The resulting blister led to a 4mm hole forming in his cornea, the clear outer layer at the front of the eye.
This open wound led to a number of subsequent infections, and, despite medics’ best efforts, the damage was too severe, and he lost his vision.
Doctors were eventually forced to sew his eyelids shut in a bid to protect what remained of the organ.
Now, his family are speaking out to help others avoid the same fate as they prepare for a complex operation in a bid to save the toddler’s eyesight.
Juwan’s ordeal started in August last year when the then 16-month old developed, what his parent’s suspected at the time, was an eye infection.
They sought help from their GP who gave them a course of antibiotics and sent the family home.
Two-year-old Juwan lost sight in his left eye after a simple kiss transferred the cold sore virus to the eyeball
But Juwan’s mother, Michelle Saaiman, who is from Namibia, recalled the moment she knew it was something more serious.
‘Two days later, we noticed that there was something seriously wrong with the eye. It looked like something was growing inside his eyeball,’ she wrote on Facebook.
‘We realised that he had no feeling in his eye, as he literally put his finger in his eye, scratching his eyeball, without even flinching.’
‘It’s the most traumatic experience to look at your baby, and literally see a 4mm open wound in his eye.’
Tests and examinations eventually revealed that Juwan had developed a cold sore, caused by the herpes simplex virus, in his eye.
As his parents were negative for the virus, the doctors theorised that someone with a fever blister, another term for a cold sore, unknowingly passed the virus to the toddler via a kiss.
Mrs Saaiman said: ‘The herpes virus could, most likely, only have been transferred by someone who had an active blister, kissing our baby on, or close to the eye, or on his hand — which he later touched his eye with.’
The 36-year-old told Metro she originally couldn’t believe the diagnosis was real.
Juwan’s mother, Michelle Saaiman, recalled the moment they knew it was something more serious. ‘Two days later, we noticed that there was something seriously wrong with the eye. It looked like something was growing inside his eyeball,’ she wrote on Facebook.
‘I was literally looking at the doctor wondering whether it’s April 1, because I thought it was an April Fool’s joke,’ she said.
It took medics weeks to bring Juwan’s infection under control, but by this time the damage to the eye had already been done.
‘By that time the herpes just caused so much damage to his cornea that he essentially just lost all feeling in the eye and he could not see anything. He was completely blind.’
‘It meant the brain did not recognise the eye anymore and stopped sending signals to the eye. The gel later protecting the eye evaporated and the eye dried out.’
The family now hope an upcoming operation to transfer nerves from his leg to his eye socket to restore the connection between the eyeball and the brain will be successful.
If the nerve transfer works this could make Juwan eligible for a cornea transplant which could restore his vision.
Mrs Saaiman said: ‘Whether any vision can ever be restored is unknown at this stage, but we have made peace with the fact that he could very well be permanently blind in his left eye.
Doctors were eventually forced to sew his eyelids shut in a bid to protect what remained of the organ
‘Our main priority at this stage is just to save the eye itself and to prevent further infections.’
She urged parents to take steps to prevent their children from suffering a similar ordeal.
‘I feel it necessary to make people understand why you should not kiss someone’s baby,’ she said.
‘This is something that I’ve read a thousand times, but we’ve never really been too bothered about it — I mean, what’s the worst that can happen, right? Wrong. I was so wrong.
‘The moral of the story is don’t let anyone kiss your baby. Such a silly virus caused so much trauma and damage, it’s just not worth it.’
With Juwan’s parents needing to take time off work to travel with him to specialists in neighbouring South Africa, they have set up a fundraiser to help cover their expenses.
Cold sores, caused by the herpes simplex virus, are common, with some studies suggest seven in 10 Britons have them at any given time.
While an unsightly active cold sore doesn’t cause any issues for most adults with the blister resolving on its own or with over the counter anti-viral creams.
For adults a cold sore, caused by the herpes simplex virus, is not only common but can also ‘spontaneously resolve’ or be treated with anti-viral creams
However, a cold sore can be incredibly dangerous for a young baby as their immune system is yet to fully develop.
If left to spread unchecked, it can begin to affect vital organs which can lead to seizures and even death.
Parents are advised that the first four weeks of a baby’s life are when they are most vulnerable to a serious herpes infection.
Adults with cold sores should not kiss their baby and should also follow good hand hygiene while caring for the baby to reduce the chance of passing on the virus.
The NHS warns that if a baby does contract herpes from a parent or other adult, it may not manifest as rash and instead the child may show signs such as being lethargic or irritable, not feeding, a high temperature.
Parents are urged to act quickly if they notice this — as young children can deteriorate quickly.
Parents should contact NHS 111 or their GP for advice.
If the baby is floppy and unresponsive, difficult to wake up, has breathing difficulties, starts grunting or their tongue or skin turn blue they should call 999 immediately.
