Baby killed by a loving kiss!

[Biggogglyeyes]

so sad

ds1 had an awful herpes infection at 11 months. It may have triggered his regression into severe autism. The paed thought it was a distinct possibility and it has gone into his diagnosis letter, although I suspect there were other factors as well and autism is associated with herpes encephalitis rather than eczema herpeticum (which is what ds1 had). He was born at the same hospital as that little girl (well the one they pulled down in the same spot irrelevant I know).

Poor family

DS1 was delayed in receiving acyclovir as well., although as soon as he was seen by a dermatologist she had him on it. But the other doctors we saw in the days before just didn't recognise it. Apparently the key indicator were that his blisters (he was covered from head to toe) were in little pits. If your child ever gets that ask someone 'could this be eczema herpeticum'. It can be fatal. And if it did trigger his regression (I'm 50:50 on that), really you don't want to go there.

The other thing about the eczema herpeticum was that it came up really quickly so we went from nothing, absolutely fine, to covered in blisters in one day. I drove from Devon to London that day and when we left home there were a few spots, by the time we stopped for a break we felt unable to take ds1 into the Little Chef as he looked so awful (we thought it was chickenpox), by the time he got home he was literally covered.

I wish I'd known more about it. I'd never heard of it.

oh gosh , this is one of those awful sad stories with medical information that brings out old post traumatic stress disorder fears and worries . I never knew this was a problem.Very tragic for the family, awful.

Cargirl, dd2 gets constant sore nappy rash were the skin gets broken and in an awful state , is it when in this state that shes vulnerable? Or at 2yrs old is it not much of an issue? Shes fine now with no rash right now, so if I took her into my gp they'd probably say I don't need to worry as theirs nothing there. I think they have very little funding for any hospital tests etc and it makes it such a fight. Im anxious now.

Kerry - I'm (slowly - the server is struggling) - uploading photos of ds1's eczema herpeticum. Like you its something I feel strongly about. I was off merrily working on a revision course thinking my son had chickenpox when in fact he had something far more sinister. It was only because my GP felt uncomfortable that we were referred to a dermatologist, and my GP had to push and push for that appointment.

It was only afterwards that I found out that a) it could have killed him and b) may well have been a big factor in his regression and subsequent severe disability.

have known about eczema herpeticum since dd1 was tiny (hours spent googling for eczema treatments as was at the end of my tether). so am well versed on the cold sore issue. now we have dh immune suppression to worry about, i dread getting a coldsore these days.

I can imagine misdee!

The photos are up. Honestly if your child gets anything remotely like this ask the doctor 'could this be eczema herpeticum'. Most are not familiar with it and your child can crash very quickly and - well basically - die.

If I could turn back the clock and all that....

JJ those pictures poor little love. why isnt this known more about? why do people dismiss eczema as mild skin condition when it can lead to serious and fatal consequences?

when dd3 was in hospital recently there was a girl in the next room being treated for severe eczema. as her dad snoozed on the bed next to her, she was trying to tear her skin off through her special pj's and gloves, bnadages etc. it bought back a lot of memories.

He only had a few small patches of eczema before that (and something weird with his mole- it went all crinkly). After that we had some dealings with eczema and wet wrapping and all that! Herpes can definitely be nasty and yet seems to get forgotten about by doctors.

That poor poor baby

this is such a sad story

awwww jimjams, looked at pictures, poor little baba and you all going through the worry of it all, must have been devastating for you, he looks like a happy chappy though bless him.

Dd2 has very mild eczema in the creases of her arms coupled with the prevously mentioned nappy rash. I knever knew it could do this. Is it strep A I ask a swab for?

jimjams, ds1 looks gorgeous in those photos. Strange thing to say given you've posted them to show people what eczema herpeticum looks like, but he really does.

he is a gorgeous boy isnt he edam. i have seen a rare couple of pics of jj boys, and they are all gorgeous.

show us more!!

No scars at all Kerry. Although we thought he would have at the time, on his face at least. His hands took the longest time to clear up. Wet wrapping, 50:50 and lots of time and they got there - back to normal. Now he's scarred them by biting them

blimey, i had NO idea of any of these dangers; cold sores and strep etc. i still dont know what strep is tbh. ive had cold sores, chicken pox and shingles, so definitely a carrier or whatever the term is of the herpes virus (never had genital H tho, thank goodness!).

i guess i should stay away from other peoples newborns then??

LLG, only if active sores at the time

i havent had a cold sore since my teens. MIL gets them soemtimes, and wont come near our house if she has an outbreak of them.

so the fact that i havent had a cold sore since early childhood, but had lots then, and that ive had chicken pox quite badly, and then shingles badly, and then less severly several more times as a teen (it gets less severe each time apparently)... does that mean i am 'shedding' infrequently? but still possibly shedding now and then without knowing it?
am i a danger to a newborn of my own then? or will i transmit immunity in bm?
i'll certainly coo over other peoples newborns from a distance now, and not at all if i get a cold sore, obv.

I'm not sure this is the thread for this, but I have added recent photos.

I'd definitely stay away from a newborn with a cold sore. DS1 probably got his eczema herpeticum from my Mum - she had a cold sore at the time and we were staying with her. I've never told her though. Next to us she loves him more than anyone else in the world. How would she feel if she thought she factored in his regression.

I understand why the mother is feeling guilty, but she shouldn't. It could have come from anywhere. The issue is better training for medical staff to consider/recognise herpes infections. Acyclovir is an effective (although expensive) drug - the issue if recognition.