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Mom Posts Urgent Warning After Son Catches Herpes at His Baptism: “PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Do Not Kiss Newborns”

Though the dangers of babies contracting HSV-1 have been circulating the Internet over the past couple of years, South Yorkshire mom Ashleigh White insists that more education is needed after her baby boy almost died from a deadly kiss.


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Her son Noah was only 4 weeks old when Ashleigh noticed his right eye was swollen and watering. Noah’s normal temperature and eating patterns initially put the 21-year-old mother’s mind at ease that perhaps this was a minor infection.

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However, only a few days later, she spotted blisters forming around her baby’s eye and read an online warning about an infant with similar symptoms who had contracted herpes.

Ashleigh was immediately alarmed and had a bad gut feeling that Noah, too, was carrying the virus.


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‘What I didn’t realize, is that even if you don’t have an active cold sore, you still do carry the virus in your system and saliva, meaning you can never be too careful,” said the South Yorkshire mother.

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As her instincts warned, Noah’s test results came back a few days later testing positive for HSV-1, or the “cold sore virus.”

While rarely a threat to adults, this seemingly harmless virus can kill an infant, as their immune systems have not been built up enough to handle it yet.

“The virus was on his eyelid, but we managed to catch it before it could enter the bloodstream, but he couldn’t open his eyes for days,” said Ashleigh.


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Doctors informed her that Noah likely caught HSV-1 at his christening where there were countless adults kissing his face.

“We went to a christening where friends were holding and kissing him — it could have been any of them,” said Ashleigh. “I just want to make more people aware of the risks and consequences of kissing a baby, especially a newborn when you suffer from cold sores as I know how heartbreaking it can be seeing your baby so poorly. Hardly anyone had seen the photos of Noah when he contracted the virus until I posted the pictures online but I thought it was important to spread more awareness.”

Kelsey Straeter
Kelsey Straeter
Kelsey is an editor at Outreach. She’s passionate about fear fighting, freedom writing, and the pursuit of excellence in the name of crucifying perfectionism. Glitter is her favorite color, 2nd only to pink, and 3rd only to pink glitter.

Married 69 Years, Hospitalized Couple Holds Hands Til the Very End

Tommy and Virginia Stevens, both 91, were, in the eyes of their family and friends, a legendary couple. The Tennessee high school sweethearts proved earlier this month that their love truly endured until "death do us part."

Jill Duggar Says Dad Pitted Siblings Against One Another, Used Kids to Manipulate and Intimidate Her

I am currently reading Jill Duggar Dillard's memoir Counting the Cost about her life growing up in the 19 Kids and Counting Duggar family, and it is both riveting and heartbreaking.

She Was Secretly Filmed While Breastfeeding, Then She Saw It on Facebook

First-time mom Izabele Lomax was scrolling a breastfeeding support group on Facebook when she saw an angry post from a fellow nursing mom. Upon further investigation she realized the post featured HER.