Kissing other people’s babies is something that people love, a habit that, in addition to being disrespectful, can be very dangerous for a baby. Most people are unaware of the serious danger that kissing newborns can cause .
Kisses are a sign of affection, but in newborn babies, when their immune system is still very fragile, it is better to avoid them. If the person is healthy, there is practically no risk, but if he has an infection or a disease, the risk for a baby can be very high, even putting his life in danger.
Babies who got sick from a kiss
About to die from a kiss
Lucy Kendall, a mother from Yorkshire, England, is one of those who adds to the call for no one to kiss babies after her newborn child contracted neonatal herpes from a kiss .
It all started when the little one was eleven days old, when they noticed that he did not want to drink milk and his temperature began to rise. The next day he was taken to hospital and had to be admitted with oxygen and a feeding tube for 21 days.
Doctors informed parents that their baby had contracted a virus that can be passed to a baby if a person with herpes kisses or touches the little one near their mouth . Herpes is very contagious, even after being cured, with no visible wound.
The baby had to be treated with antibiotics for six months and continued to visit the hospital.
The case of Mariana, who died when she was 18 days old
Unfortunately, there are cases of babies who have had worse luck. In Iowa (United States), Mariana, an 18-day-old baby, died of contracting meningitis from a kiss. He contracted the herpes simplex virus which led to meningitis and ended his short life.
When the girl was born, as happens when a baby is born, she received visits from family and friends who came to meet her, they kissed her and touched her.
A week later, she began to show signs that something was wrong: she had stopped eating and could not be awakened despite several attempts. They immediately took her to the hospital where they were told that the girl had contracted HSV-1 meningitis , caused by the herpes simplex virus, the same virus that causes sores in the mouth and that spreads very quickly. “Within two hours, the girl stopped breathing and all her organs began to fail,” the mother told Who-tv.
Her parents were tested and they did not have the virus, so doctors believe that she may have been infected by a third person infected with the virus by touching or kissing her.
Herpes simplex virus
The herpes simplex virus (HSV) is highly contagious and causes palpable sores or blisters around the mouth or on other parts of the face, although there may be asymptomatic people who do not have wounds. Transmission is through direct contact with herpes or by contact with the saliva of a person with the infection, for example, by kissing .
There are two types of HSV: Type 1, which usually causes facial ulcers, but can also affect the genitals, and Type 2, which usually affects the genital area, but sometimes also affects the mouth. However, either type of the virus can cause ulcers anywhere on the body.
Herpes simplex viruses can also, rarely, cause meningitis . Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges (the thin tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) that reaches the central nervous system (CNS). Symptoms usually appear quickly and involve vital organs within a few hours.
And not just because of the herpes simplex virus …
These are just a couple of examples of newborns infected with this dangerous virus. Fortunately, it is not a common occurrence, but it can happen.
And we are not just talking about the herpes virus, but about any virus or bacteria that adults or children can transmit to a newborn baby with an immature immune system.
Adults can be carriers of viruses and bacteria, which, although they are not serious or show symptoms in older people, can be very dangerous for babies , especially in the first months of life.
Without going any further, Covid is a very contagious virus that, although it does not affect babies with the virulence that it does in older people, can have serious consequences in immunosuppressed children or with previous conditions. Therefore, with the coronavirus circulating, let no one touch or kiss your newborn baby. Because even if a person is vaccinated they can transmit it.
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In Babies and more | This is why no one should kiss a baby on the mouth: her daughter came close to not telling about it, Be very careful with herpes: a baby dies from a kiss
