Noah Tindle spent two and a half months in hospital after contracting herpes (Picture: Caters News) A newborn baby almost died after contracting herpes in his eye after being kissed at a christening.

Noah Tindle was just four-weeks-old when his mum, Ashleigh White, 21, noticed her son’s right eye has become swollen, blistered and was watering.

Ashleigh was devastated when she was told her son was likely to have caught the disease through an infected adult kissing his face.

The virus nearly caused Noah to go blind in one eye (Picture: Caters News) Now she’s on a mission to spread awareness and warn people not to kiss newborns, who can die from the disease.




Noah was rushed to hospital and was quickly diagnosed with herpes simplex virus 1 [HSV-1] – known as the ‘kiss of death’.

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He almost went blind in one eye and two-and-a-half months in hospital recovering but is now on the road to recovery.

The phone sales agent said: ‘We went to a christening where friends were holding and kissing him – it could have been any of them.

Noah with his mum Ashleigh White and dad Jake (Picture: Caters News)

‘I just want to make more people aware of the risks and consequences of kissing a baby, especially a newborn when you suffer from cold sores as I know how heartbreaking it can be seeing your baby so poorly.

‘Hardly anyone had seen the photos of Noah when he contracted the virus until I posted the pictures online but I thought it was important to spread more awareness.’

Ashleigh, 21, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, shared their story on Facebook which has since gone viral.

She says she was initially advised by the health visitor that Noah’s irritated eye was due to a blocked tear duct which normally clears up on its own.

It is thought Noah contracted the infection after being kissed at a christening (Picture: Caters News) Noah, who is now nine months old, didn’t have a high temperature and was eating as he should which put Ashleigh’s mind at rest.

But a few days later she noticed some blisters flare up around his eye and read something about a baby with similar looking marks who caught herpes.

She added: ‘What I didn’t realise, is that even if you don’t have an active cold sore, you still do carry the virus in your system and saliva, meaning you can never be too careful.

Noah was taken to the doctors in September and was referred to a children’s ward for tests, injections and antibiotics.

A few days later he came back positive for HSV-1, also known as the cold sore virus.

It isn’t harmful to adults but potentially fatal for babies as it can spread to their brains and cause organ failure.

Ashleigh added: ‘The virus was on his eyelid, but we managed to catch it before it could enter the bloodstream, but he couldn’t open his eyes for days.’



For two weeks Noah had antivirals pumped into his system three times a day, an hour at a time before switching to a six month course of different drugs.

He had a re-occurrence in March and had to go through the same thing again and now wont be off his medication until March 2020.

Noah is now on the road to recovery and his hitting all his milestones now he’s nine months old (Picture: Caters News)

Ashleigh said: ‘We still have a long way to go yet before we’re out of the dark and still continuously having checkups with his doctors and ophthalmologists.

‘But after our appointment with his doctor yesterday he is happy that Noah is well and happy, so it’s good to know you’re doing something right.

‘I was lucky enough to catch it in time and still have my little boy here with me today, but some might not be that lucky.

‘It was physically and mentally draining seeing Noah so poorly and would do anything to help stop families going through what we went through, so please, please, please don’t kiss newborns.

‘He’s crawling, he’s like a baby should be – we had two and half months in hospital because of this, now he can live a normal life again.’

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