A mother has shared an emotional warning for parents after her two-year-old son lost vision in one eye due to a virus believed to have been passed on through a kiss. The experience has left her family heartbroken and has sparked a wider conversation about the importance of being cautious when relatives and friends kiss babies.

Juwan’s life changed after he contracted the herpes simplex virus in his eye. What first appeared to be a simple eye infection quickly became a serious medical challenge. The virus caused a blister to develop on his eyeball, leading to a 4mm opening in his cornea. Despite weeks of treatment, doctors were unable to restore vision in the affected eye.

The toddler’s ordeal began in August last year when, at just 16 months old, he developed what his parents believed was a routine eye infection. A GP prescribed antibiotics and sent them home. But his mother, Michelle Saaiman from Namibia, quickly sensed something was not right.

“Two days later, we noticed that there was something seriously wrong with the eye. It looked like something was growing inside his eyeball,” she wrote on Facebook. “We realised that he had no feeling in his eye, as he literally put his finger in his eye, scratching his eyeball, without even reacting.” “It’s the most heartbreaking experience to look at your baby and see a 4mm open wound in his eye,” she wrote.

Further tests confirmed he had developed an eye infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. As both parents tested negative, doctors believe the virus was likely passed on by someone who had an active cold sore.

“The herpes virus could, most likely, only have been passed on by someone who had an active cold sore, kissing our baby on, or close to the eye, or on his hand — which he later touched to his eye with,” Saaiman said.

Family waiting for surgery

Speaking about the diagnosis, she told Metro UK, “I was literally looking at the doctor wondering whether it was April 1, because I thought it was an April Fool’s joke.”

By the time the infection was under control, the damage was permanent.

“By that time the herpes had caused so much damage to his cornea that he essentially lost all feeling in the eye and could not see anything. He completely lost vision in that eye.”

“It meant the brain no longer recognised the eye properly and stopped sending signals to it. The protective tear layer evaporated and the eye became extremely dry.”

Doctors have since sewn his eyelids shut to help protect the eye. The family is now preparing for a complex nerve transfer surgery in South Africa, hoping it may make a future cornea transplant possible. They have also started a fundraiser to help cover the cost of treatment.

“Whether any vision can ever be restored is unknown at this stage, but we have accepted that he may permanently lose vision in his left eye. Our main priority right now is to save the eye itself and prevent further infections.”

Sharing her warning, she said, “I feel it’s important to help people understand why you should not kiss someone’s baby.”

“This is something I’ve read a thousand times, but we never really thought much about it. We always wondered, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ We were completely wrong.”

She added, “The lesson we’ve learned is simple: don’t let anyone kiss your baby. Such a common virus caused so much hardship and lasting damage. It’s simply not worth the risk.”

Source: MSN