This 3 year old had a rough week recently. Having been
feeling angry and irritable all week, the little girl developed little bumps on
the lower lid of her eye and next to the eye. During this time, Amber Bard, a third-year
medical student at Michigan State, and aunt of the three year old turned to the
computer to see what the cause was. Using a database called VisualDx, she
crossed out conjunctivitis, sty, and other eye diseases. When the girl’s mother
mentioned that she had happened to have a cold sore on her lip earlier the
month, Bard narrowed it down to herpes. Now, the eye is quite an unusual place
for the herpes virus to infect, but it can infect the eye and cause herpes
keratitis, which can cause permanent damage to the eye such as blindness.
The three-year-old was taken to the pediatrician, who told
her mother that it was unlikely herpes virus, but a swab was done and sent in
for a culture. Everything seemed fine after that but then the little girl’s
left eyelid began to droop and light seemed to hurt her eye. Monday morning,
the pediatrician called to alert the mom that it was indeed herpes virus. The
girl was immediately started with acyclovir antiviral. They eye healed but a
few months later two blisters appeared. Poor child had to go through the discomfort
and pain again. Luckily she was treated with antivirals and no eye damage
resulted from all this.
More about this Type 1 herpes virus: It is very contagious
and transmitted through skin contact. The virus attacks the nerves of the skin,
resulting in painful blisters or lesions. When the lesion heals, the virus
travels up the nerve to the spine or brain, lying dormant to later be awaken again, travel
down the nerve to the skin, and cause lesions to appear.
Who knew a mother’s kiss could be so dangerous?
-Jessica Ngo
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