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In August last year, Michelle Saaiman from Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, suddenly realized that her youngest son Juwan, who is only 16 months old, had an infection in his left eye.
The doctor prescribed antibiotic drops, but to no avail. Juwan’s condition progressed rapidly, and two days later he began to develop strange growths in his eye, and then he inexplicably lost consciousness in his left eye!
Youngest son Juwan.
Saaiman and her husband noticed that Juwan was putting his fingers directly into his eyes and scratching them without feeling any pain. Something was clearly wrong, so they took him to an ophthalmologist, who examined him and found out that his left eye was infected with Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), which causes herpes on the lips and mouth.
Saaiman didn’t believe it at first. As the name suggests, herpes orofacialis should be around the mouth, how could it be in the eye?
The doctors had two theories: Either someone with herpes orolabialis had kissed Juwan on or around the eye, or the patient had kissed Juwan’s hand, and Juwan had then touched his eye with his hand, spreading the virus. Kissing would have been one of the common ways the herpes virus is transmitted.
Juwan’s left eye turned green from the medication.
The problem now is that if left untreated, the virus could spread to the brain and the right eye, and other complications could follow. In addition, since the herpes virus can’t be cured, it can only be controlled, and it can come back often in the future, which is tough to deal with, right?
Saaiman didn’t disclose the details of the difficult journey to recovery, except to say that they spent a lot of money on medication, took Juwan to surgeries, hospitalizations, biopsies, sought help from pediatricians in the U.S., and asked a pharmacist to create a special medication for Juwan’s condition, and it took a lot of hard work to finally get the virus to go into remission.
But this was not enough to completely cure Juwan’s left eye. The damage to his left eye was so severe that he was unable to see at all, and basically lost all sensation.
Then the gel used to protect the surface of the eye evaporated, causing the eye to dry out, and with the loss of lubrication, the tissue in his eye began to dissolve, creating a 4-millimeter hole. The open wound led to frequent infections in the left eye, and if it does not heal, he fears total blindness.
Juwan lost most of his vision and sensation in his left eye.
To save his eye, the family flew to South Africa again to seek help from a pediatric ophthalmologist. The surgeon planned a total of three surgeries.
The first was an amniotic membrane transplant to repair the cornea, which Juwan had already had done in January of this year. To protect his eyes, the doctor also stitched his eyelids together as well.
The second surgery is expected next month, where doctors will harvest nerves from Juwan’s legs and implant them in his eyes.
If the surgery is successful, he will be able to have his final cornea transplant next year to save his sight, provided a suitable donor is found.
He will also need to take long-term anti-viral medication to prevent a recurrence of herpes.
With so many uncertainties, it’s impossible to say at this stage how the future will unfold, and the family is prepared for the worst!
Juwan
Saaiman and her husband are furious as they watch their young son suffer.
Who is so selfish as to kiss my child’s face when he has herpes labialis?
The kissing was out of fondness, so whoever did it I’m sure didn’t do it on purpose or want to hurt him. It’s a sad thing, why does my poor child have to go through this?
In an effort to get help and to alert other parents, she shared the ordeal online a while ago.
Many netizens took it as a warning and said that in the future, it is necessary to refuse kisses from adults in order to protect children
My mom was always against adults kissing babies
From the tiktok comment section
I got yelled at for years for cautioning adults not to kiss babies. I wish this baby a speedy recovery.
Agreed! I grew up not kissing my family, it was a rule I made for myself. Even now, my family knows not to try to kiss me. I don’t have kids, but I’ve always promoted the idea. A high five and a hello to your child is enough.
A kiss can cause unimaginable harm, and parents can’t be too careful when it comes to protecting their children.
ref
https www timeslive co za news south africa 2025 02 21 mother says herpes virus could cost her toddlers eye after kiss from infected person
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