Samantha Rodgers’ baby boy Juliano was just a year old when she noticed blisters appearing around his mouth.
The Iowa mom took her son to a doctor, who thought who had the flu — or, at worst, a bad case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
But the truth turned out to be far worse, and the blisters around Juliano’s mouth were just the beginning.
Juliano’s sores continued to worsen, with Samantha not being able to do anything but worry. As every parent knows, the panic that sets in when your child is sick and you can’t do anything about it is unbearable.
The boy’s mother is warning other parents to be careful when letting people hold their babies>>>…
Posted by KFVS-TV on Sunday, July 30, 2017
It was when Juliano’s painful blisters spread to his neck and stomach that Samantha took him back to the doctors.
Juliano was tested for herpes simplex virus type 1. To Samantha’s surprise, the results came back positive. Her little boy had been infected with herpes — a disease that will stay with him for his entire life.
It’s unclear how Juliano was infected, but cold sores are spread when a person touches a cold sore or saliva that contains infected fluid — small children are especially susceptible to this. All it takes is a hug or a kiss with someone who is infected for the virus to be transferred.
“It sucks because this is a lifelong problem now. Every time he runs a fever, every time he’s sick he can have an outbreak, I don’t know how to handle this. I am trying to do the best, it’s sad, it breaks my heart, and I can’t do anything to help him,” Samantha told WHOtv.com.
Juliano has received treatments to limit his symptoms and he’s feeling better now. The sad truth of the matter though is that he’ll carry the herpes virus with him for the rest of his life.
Samantha doesn’t know who infected her son, but she’s now calling on other parents to be careful about who they let come into contact with their children. A person can be carrying the virus even if they don’t show any symptoms.
“All I can say is just be cautious, it can be anybody, your best friend, your sister, your brother, or your mom, it can be anybody. Everybody needs to wash their hands, sanitize, if you see a cold sore or anything on them just don’t let them come by your baby.”
The younger children are, the more dangerous the herpes virus can be for them. Please share this information with all your friends who have children. Even if you know how dangerous cold sores are for children, not everyone is aware!
No child should be affected by this horrible disease, help us try and limit its spread.
