Breelynn started having seizures just two weeks after being kissed on the mouth as a baby

A mom has shared an important warning about kissing young children after what happened to her daughter.

Eight-year-old Breelynn was born healthy and happy, but her health changed dramatically after someone kissed her on the mouth when she was just two days old.

It turned out the person who kissed her had a cold sore, leading Breelynn to develop HSV encephalitis.

Because Breelynn’s immune system was still developing at the time, the virus affected her brain as the encephalitis progressed.

Speaking about Breelynn and the experience that changed her life, her mom explained in a video shared to the Special Books by Special Kids YouTube channel: “When parents say not to kiss your children, this is one of the reasons why.

“[Breelynn] was born healthy. She was fine. And at two days old, somebody was so excited to see her that they kissed her on the mouth, and two weeks later we started having seizures.”

The seizures later resulted in significant changes to Breelynn’s brain, along with the diagnosis of Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE).

The condition is extremely rare and affects about one in 500,000 people each year.

The interviewer went on to ask how the kiss led to Breelynn’s brain injury, to which her mom said: “The infection got into her brain fluid and it affected her brain.

“It affected the left side of her brain the most. It had just started moving over to the right side when we caught it.”

“More or less, the encephalitis severely damaged parts of her brain tissue,” she added.

Elsewhere in the interview, Breelynn’s mom revealed that around 60 percent of the left side of her daughter’s brain was affected, while about 10 percent of the right side was.

While the youngster is doing better than doctors originally expected considering the extent of the damage, she is still expected to face significant health challenges throughout her life.

Despite Breelynn being left with lifelong challenges following the incident, her mom says she’s forgiven the person who kissed her.

“You know, it was an accident and they didn’t truly mean it,” she said.

Many people have since commented on the video, sharing their surprise at how a simple kiss can have such serious consequences for a newborn.

One person said: “I never knew a baby could become so ill from a kiss, totally 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝖼𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀.”

Another added: “I had no idea about the risks of kissing a baby until I saw this. I’m almost 30.”

“Kissing is unsanitary by nature, but I never thought something like this could happen,” a third added. “That’s heartbreaking.”

With many people unaware of the potential risks, others have called for greater awareness about why it’s important to avoid kissing newborn babies, especially on the face or mouth.

Source: Unilad