Fatal dangers of cold sores to newborns

Have also posted this in the Pregnancy forum

I have just been up with one of my girls and came across this group on Facebook Warning pregnant mothers about the fatal dangers of cold sores to newborns and it's been bugging me every since. I had never heard of this condition before. I just felt a strong urge to come post on here 'just in case'. What happened to Charlotte's precious little girl is heart wrenching and I would hate for that to happen to another baby.

This is her story *Warning tear jerker*

Our baby daughter Mira died on 28th November 2007 from herpes simplex virus 1 - the common cold sore virus. She was just 10 days old.

It is so so rare here in the UK - only 6 babies a year die from this and it is so easily preventable.

I had never had a cold sore before Mira was born, but shortly after her birth I was so exhausted and run down with a throat infection that I developed a tiny cold sore on my bottom lip when she was 3 days old. It disappeared almost overnight and I didn't think anything more of it.

Mira was a beautiful, perfect, healthy baby - but when she was 8 days old she became a bit restless and difficult to feed. We took her to the GP twice, and she was also seen by a midwife and an on-call doctor in the two days before she died. Her symptoms were so non-descript that nobody knew what was making her so poorly. She had a low temperature, her eye was a bit sticky, and she wasn't interested in feeding. She was just so peaceful and sleepy all the time. She had no marks, blemishes or lesions on her, definitely nothing that would have made anyone think that she was being attacked by the cold sore virus - it was just quietly working its way through her little body with no outwardly noticeable signs.

She took a turn for the worse in the evening of 27th November, and we rushed her to hospital, where she stopped breathing. The doctors tried to save her, but by then the virus had overwhelmed her tiny body and they had no idea what had made her so ill. She grew her angel wings at 4.20am on November 28th, 2007 - just 10 short days after she'd made such a long-awaited entrance into the world.

The post mortem results came back as herpes simplex virus 1 - the cold sore virus. Up to 85 per cent of adults have this virus, and it's harmless in adults.

As it was my first ever cold sore, I had no antibodies to pass on to Mira, so her tiny body was unprotected. It was just incredibly bad luck that my first ever infection coincided with the birth, and I unknowingly transmitted the virus to Mira in the first few days of her life.

I read so much when I was pregnant, but had never seen anything at all about the dangers of this type of simple condition. This is why we want to raise awareness and increase public knowledge.

It's too late for Mira, but I just want nobody else to go through the devastation that we went through at losing our beautiful 10 day old daughter, and the pain that we'll carry around in our shattered hearts forever.

Please, just help us by passing this information on to anyone you know who it may help - pregnant women, family members of newborn babies, health professionals (we were surprised at how little was known about this even by some of the top medical experts we have been in contact with since losing Mira).



Sorry for the depressing post, I just really felt like I needed to pass this message along.

Em

Edited by Emiloly

So sad

I hate to say it...but is it true or one of those hoaxes? I ask because almost EVERYONE has antibodies to the cold sore virus. If it is true, I wouldnt be too concerned because it would have to be INCREDIBLY rare to happen. And it might not have been the herpes simplex virus that is to blame. Any virus may have had that result in a young baby which is why we take sick newborns so seriously.

If it is true then it is incredibly sad...but I think it is also incredibly bad luck and not something to stress about. IYGWIM

Im new to this forum and am only joining long enough to put you right on this subject. the girl you are talking about is my dear friend Charlotte and she is not a fake or hoax. Mira did die due to the coldsore virus and no not every newborn baby has antibodies. Your baby only has antibodies if you have had coldsores before but sadly Charlotte didnt and developed her first coldsore after Mira was born. Im not on here to bitch or shout but just to let you know that it is a very fatal virus to babies who's mums have never had coldsores, I have got to know charlotte through SANDS, stillbirth and neonatal death society as my baby girl died too, not from the same thing. I know its a very rare virus and yes only a handful of babies die from it each year but it does happen. Please take some time to read over Charlottes group on facebook, she has raised alot of awareness through media, tv and magazines to try and help prevent others living the horrendous life that she is living now.

Please be abit more sensitive as to who you call a fake as it cuts deep

Thank you for the person who posted originally about this for talking about it to others.

nzpiper wrote: I hate to say it...but is it true or one of those hoaxes? I ask because almost EVERYONE has antibodies to the cold sore virus. If it is true, I wouldnt be too concerned because it would have to be INCREDIBLY rare to happen. And it might not have been the herpes simplex virus that is to blame. Any virus may have had that result in a young baby which is why we take sick newborns so seriously. If it is true then it is incredibly sad...but I think it is also incredibly bad luck and not something to stress about. IYGWIM

I happen to know Charlotte very well and can vouch for her as a genuine and honest person who has tragically lost her daughter Mira in exactly the way described.

Yes what happened to Charlotte and Mira is rare but it can and does happen to people she is trying to raise awareness. Not only has she started groups like this but she has appeared on a national UK television programme to discuss what happened to them.

That takes incredible courage and strength to do, I can tell you from personal experience that when your baby dies there are days when it is almost impossible to talk to family and friends without breaking down, let alone go on television in front of millions of strangers. Charlotte did that to help raise awareness because I can tell you the one thing that all parents who lose a child feel is that it should never, ever happen to another family.

I appreciate the need to be careful about fakes but it is also just as important to have evidence or very good reasons to be suspicious before you start asking on an open forum if someone is real or a hoaxer.

littlepips, jodyr, ndoc35 it is customary to write an introductory post before jumping in, we have a thread just for this purpose. I understand your intentions but it is coming across as a tad rude.

If your going to post something on the internet expect people to question it!! There are millions of hoaxes on the internet everyday and im sorry but everyone has a right to question what they read. You cant expect a group of friends on a forum you dont normally belong to expect your friend to take offence to a genuine question when the same question is probably being asked by a lot of other people that arent in your country and seen the story on the news or in papers.

I think you need to show more respect to our forum

I simply wanted to express the need to consider before making a statement, not to attack,, not to offend the forum. As far as I see as freely as you may question hoaxes I may step in to create an awareness that that information reaches others and causes further pain. Is that rude, I think not.

I realise there is a need to question, so google, search, educate yourself but be aware of how you question.   Clearly you are a close forum and feel defensive on this issue, it isn't about you, or me, it is about stepping out of the bubble and being aware. I make no appologies for simple wanting to express that and have no further need to use your forum. Blessings to you all.

IT's ok Nikki, I understand where your coming from. I am still frankly surprised that so little is known about this subject. And considering it's devastating outcome why more health professionals don't warn people as a matter of course.

I think the fact that it is so rare for it to happen is why the general public education is lacking. As mentioned previously, it is a known risk for mothers/babies with HSV-2 (genital herpes), and actions are taken to avoid infection of the newborn. 85% of us already are infected with the HSV-1 virus (as opposed to about 25% with HSV-2), and the vast majority of primary infections occur during the first 5 years of life. I believe it was terribly terribly bad luck for Charlotte to have had a primary infection just after her baby was born, and therefore pass the virus along to her baby, who didn't have the protection of antibodies. Even 2 weeks after a primary infection allows time for you to develop antibodies against the virus, and subsequently pass them along. The chances of something like this happening are very low, and I'm guessing why MWs and doctors don't fore-warn people (and in the majority of cases it would just create unwarranted worry).