If there is one rule you should always follow when you're around a newborn baby, it's keep your kisses off the chubby little cheeks. We know, we know, babies are hard to resist; they're adorable. But the risk of spreading a cold, the flu, or any infection is not a chance adults should take. Rhian Brace from England knows this danger all too well, after her newborn son, Ernie, contracted a potentially deadly neonatal herpes virus from an unknowing visitor. After breaking out in blisters that kept getting worse, Ernie was rushed to the hospital and given treatment for the virus, which for the time being has helped. But according to his mom, Ernie isn't out of the woods just yet. In a post on Facebook, Rhian is now sharing her story so that other parents will know the warning signs of this serious infection.
Rhian didn't have the easiest time getting pregnant with Ernie and was thrilled after his birth.
As she tells CafeMom, she had been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis "and spent a lot of time in and out of hospital due to being in a lot of pain most of the time."
Doctors told Rhian that she would never be able to conceive naturally, but she was unswayed and decided to try to get pregnant on her own anyway. Rhian succeeded at her goal, and when she finally gave birth to her son, she felt like his birth had been "a miracle."
But about two weeks after bringing Ernie home, Rhian noticed a strange "tiny blister-like spot on the back of his head."
As Rhian described in a post on Facebook, she could tell that the "blister" meant something was going on with her son, but she couldn't figure out what. Ernie "didn’t have a temperature, his nappies hadn’t changed, he was feeding as he had been for the two weeks he had been at home," she wrote.
"The only indication I had that he wasn’t well was one tiny blister like spot on the back of (his) head," she continued, "which after being bathed had popped and what can only be described as puss had come away from it, I cleaned the area and re-washed his head/hair just in case it was infectious."
Concerned, Rhian asked her doctor about her son's condition, but the doctor assured her that it was eczema and nothing to worry about.
Three days later, more blisters appeared on Ernie's head, and the day after that, another six appeared, which worried Rhian deeply.
Rhian recalled that the new blisters looked "infected" and this time she was determined to get a better diagnosis for what was going on with her boy. "I then contacted the doctors again to have second opinion," she tells CafeMom. "It was then that the doctor that saw Ernie phoned straight through to the children’s ward and I was strongly advised that he needed to be seen by the pediatric team and skin specialists."
"Three days later I was told that it was the herpes simplex virus, also known as a the common cold sore," she explains. It was a diagnosis that confused Rhian. "I was still very much at this point unaware about how serious it was. All I knew was that my baby needed to have his anti-viral meds through an IV line."
"It is just as deadly as meningitis in babies if not treated straight away because it starts to attack their brain, lungs and other vital organs."
According to the Boston Children's Hospital, "Neonatal herpes simplex is a serious condition that can even be fatal if left untreated." And the virus can impact brain and spinal cord function, as well as harm the liver, kidneys, or lungs.
Doctors commended Rhian on her quick action, which saved Ernie's life, and explained that most likely, her son had contracted the virus either through vaginal delivery or human contact. Rhian was ruled out because she had never been infected with the virus before and did not have it at the time of Ernie's birth.
That meant that most likely her boy had contracted the illness from a family member "either through touching or kissing and someone not washing their hands or knowing they carry the virus," Rhian says.
"We spent two weeks in hospital so Ernie could complete the full course of IV," she continues. "He had been fitted with seven cannulas (a lightweight tube that rests inside the nostrils to help the patient breathe) in six days. It was then decided that he needed a central line (an IV line that goes into a large blood vessel near the center of the body) fitted so he could finish the course of medicine."
But unfortunately for little Ernie, he isn't out of the woods just yet.
Even though she was allowed to bring Ernie home, "he now has six months of oral medicine and lots of hospital visits to monitor his health," Rhian says.
"We have been told that if Ernie gets to his 1st birthday and the virus has not come back or showed anymore signs, then the virus that has hospitalized him for the first weeks of his life has been completely killed," she added on Facebook.
Now Rhian is sharing her story online so that other parents will know the signs of this dangerous virus.
Rhian tells CafeMom that she shared her story on Facebook because "this is not a virus that people understand or know how serious it can be."
Her son became infected despite the precautions Rhian had taken with Ernie when she first brought him home. "I told everyone not to kiss him and not touch him other than to hold him," she says. "Even then I was very cautious about it."
But "people also don’t listen to parents when they ask things to be done or not done," she says. And this is a problem that needs to end, full stop.
"I also want to raise awareness to everyone else out there so that hopefully nobody else has to go through what Ernie or myself or his dad have been through," she says.
And on Facebook she urges well-meaning friends and family of new parents everywhere to take precautions before they visit a newborn baby in the future. "Just remember that when being around a newborn, personal hygiene is everything, remember to keep your hands clean, don’t kiss and respect the wishes of parents," she added.
