Heartbroken parents’ stark warning after their baby girl died aged just 14 days from the cold sore virus
Little Kiara is thought to have picked up the herpes simplex virus through a well wisher kissing her
THE heartbroken parents of a baby girl who died aged just 14 days old have issued a stark warning about the dangers of the cold sore virus.
Kelly Ineson and fiancé Thomas Cummins' daughter Kiara is thought to have picked up the herpes simplex virus through a well-wisher kissing her.
The couple is now sharing their story in the hope of helping another family to avoid such a tragedy.
Mum Kelly, 30, who has three other children, said: "We were always so careful, not letting anyone near her if they seemed poorly or hadn’t washed their hands.
“I never in my worst nightmares imagined a kiss could kill my baby, and I don’t want any other parents to go through this.”
Kiara was Kelly's first child with partner Thomas, who "literally leapt with joy" when she told him that she was pregnant.
“When I told my other children, they couldn’t wait,” she recalled.
“Jamielea was hysterical, she was that excited, and the boys were thrilled to have another sister on the way.”
But the pregnancy wasn't an easy one and Kelly found out early on that the baby had a five per cent chance of having Down's Syndrome.
She continued: “I met with a specialist and they talked about termination, but that simply wasn’t an option.
“The way I saw it was if she had Down’s Syndrome, she had Down’s Syndrome. I knew whatever happened, I’d deal with it and love her just the same.”
The baby had to be delivered via an emergency C-section and after 13 days in hospital, finally was sent home.
But a routine midwife check at 10 days old found that Kiara’s weight had suddenly dropped from 6lb 11oz to below her 6lb 5oz birth weight.
She was rushed back to hosptial as her oxygen levels started to plummet and an infection began to shut down her kidneys.
“It was horrendous. I couldn’t help but think of the worst case scenario,” continued Kelly. “Every time we got a little bit of hope, something else would happen.”
She added: “I remember once popping out of the ward to get a cup of tea and some fresh air, and Kiara’s oxygen levels dropped while I was gone.
“I came back to see all these doctors running to her bedside and I just crumbled. I think, deep down, I knew then that she wouldn’t survive.
“Even though doctors stabilised her, I couldn’t help but look at her hooked up to all those machines, with an oxygen mask on, and wonder how she was going to pull through.”
WHEN THE COLD SORE VIRUS TURNS DEADLY
NEONATAL herpes is when a newborn is infected with the herpes virus.
It's caused by the same strain of herpes that triggers cold sores and genital ulcers in adults.
It can be extremely serious for a young baby, whose immune system won't have fully developed to fight off the virus.
While it's rare, it's important all parents are aware of the dangers.
Newborns can catch herpes in a number of ways.
It can be passed on during birth, if mum has genital herpes for the first time within six weeks of her pregnancy.
After birth, a baby can become infected if a person with a cold sore kisses them.
Or if mum breastfeeds with herpes sores on her breasts.
The warning signs to watch for in your baby are if they:
- lacking energy and being more sleepy than usual
- stop feeding
- floppy
- have a high temperature
- have a high-pitched cry
- have breathing difficulties or start grunting
- breath rapidly
- have a blue tongue
- have a rash
It's important to get your baby checked over if you suspect they've caught or been exposed to herpes.
It can develop quickly and spread to their brain or other parts of the body, proving fatal.
Doctors discovered that she had contracted a strain of the highly contagious herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores in adults.
With newborns, the virus can be passed on either by a kiss, or by the mother if she has had genital herpes for the first time within the last six weeks of pregnancy.
“Before this, like most people, I thought of herpes as an STI,” said Kelly.
“But it’s actually a virus that many people may not realise they carry.
“There’s nowhere near enough information about herpes out there."
Tragically, at 13 days old, Kiara’s parents were told the virus had led to her developing deadly sepsis – where the body attacks itself in response to an infection.
Kiara was placed in an induced coma but doctors advised she would still probably be brain damaged from the illness.
“We begged doctors to do what they could, but it was no use,” said Kelly. “We were essentially told that we’d be waiting for her to die. I couldn’t hear any more. I just broke down, running down the corridor screaming until I collapsed.”
She added: “I knew Thomas and I had a horrendous decision to make. It was incredibly hard, but in the end, we agreed with the doctors to let her go with peace and dignity, rather than prolong her suffering.
“Our family all came to say goodbye, then left us two with her while, one by one, all the machines keeping her alive were removed. She passed away at 6:32pm on August 13 – the worst moment of my life.”
Marian Nicholson, director of the Herpes Viruses Association, said: “Please don’t kiss other people’s babies.
“You might be one of the people who has cold sores that are so mild you haven’t noticed them, yet your mild infection could be transferred to a new baby."
She added: "Catching cold sores before the baby is six to nine months old can be serious as their immune systems aren’t well developed."
Last month we told how Presley Trejo, from Forth Worth, Texas, urged people NOT to kiss babies after her newborn daughter died at just 12 days old.
And earlier this year we reported how Jeff Gober from Phoenix, Arizona, watched as his newborn baby girl slipped away over the course of two weeks.
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