A mum whose young daughter suffered agonising cold sores has warned parents not to let adults kiss their babies.
Little Sadie, 21 months, was unable to eat or drink for several days after contracting herpes simplex mouth infection which caused the outbreak of blistering sores on the inside of her mouth and tongue.
Mum Leah Green shared painful-looking images of her daughter on her Instagram account as a warning to other parents.
Leah wrote on @tinyheartseducation: “Listen & learn from my first hand experience why you shouldn’t kiss babies/kids, especially if they aren’t yours.
"When Sadie was approx 21 months old, she was kissed by an adult on the lips, transferring the horrendous cold sore virus.
“She got two small spots on her lip then spiked a temp of 39C.
"Within hours the spots were spreading across her face and white spots formed in her mouth, which turned into this awful puss like stuff that was especially behind her teeth.
"The slightest touch would make the spots bleed and she would scream in agony.
“This meant she couldn’t eat or drink, resulting in weight loss and dehydration.”
The first time mum took her poorly daughter to the doctor who prescribed Panadol, but it took three weeks for the agonising sores to finally clear up.
She added: “She was absolutely miserable and stuck to my hip for four days straight! Just attempting to put her down made her scream! We went to the Dr to get cream for the spots on her lip but it really was a waiting game for it to clear up.
Around the clock Panadol was the only thing helping. Being first time parents and seeing your child in so much pain was horrific.
“It was a very very long 3 weeks so I hope I can help people by spreading awareness.”
