Glouchester Toddler, 3, Is Nearly ‘Eaten Alive’ By Herpes Contracted From Family Member

A young girl from Ireland is lucky to be alive today following a harrowing ordeal that all began with an innocent kiss.

Three-year-old Sienna Duffield is now on-the-mend after shockingly contracting herpes simplex from an adult family member late last year, so says The Sun. According to Sienna’s mother, Savina French-Bell, 21, painful and bloody sores slowly began to overtake and consume most of her little girl’s face, to the point of where it seemed like the malady had nearly “eaten [her] alive.”

Sienna Duffield's family, from Gloucester, were forced to wash her bed sheets daily and constantly had to throw out… https://t.co/zTp0R0tNzE

— World Health News (@WorldHealthNews) November 16, 2016

“It came out of nowhere [starting] on her second birthday,” Savina, a nursery worker from Gloucester, explained, “when she started developing ulcers in her mouth.”

“[As time went on],” she continued, “it started to look like someone had thrown acid over her face. It [ultimately] spread from her mouth to her cheeks, and above her eyes.”

Despite being able to easily uncover that Sienna had contracted herpes, medical officials initially had a hard time fathoming just how the young girl had managed to catch the infection. It was then that Savina recalled a family visit in October 2015, where Sienna had faultlessly kissed a family member who had been battling a cold sore.

“I realized that she kissed a family member last year, which brought on the infection,” Savina remembered. “[Once I shared the news], everyone in the family was distraught.”

https://t.co/gskzqwIAgz Toddler ‘eaten alive’ by herpes after relative kissed her makes incredible recovery

— The Page (@_ThePage) November 16, 2016

For nearly eight months afterward, Sienna’s herpes condition worsened, with blisters and rashes continuing to spread across her tiny face due to the young girl attempting to scratch away her discomfort.

“Every day, her skin would be stuck to pillows and there would always be blood everywhere,” Sienna’s mother recalled, adding that she often had to discard Sienna’s clothes and bed sheets into the trash. “I tried to stop her from scratching herself, but she would use surfaces, such as sofas in the house, to scratch her face.”

Even worse, the creams and lotions that were prescribed to the little girl to assist with combating the herpes seldom, if ever, worked.

“The infection [just] kept coming back, and her face was being ravaged,” Savina stated. “We were given every cream available, [but it kept] coming back. It was so upsetting.”

Trying her best to make life as normal as possible for Sienna didn’t help matters, either. Whenever the 3-year-old was feeling well enough to step outside, she was often the target of judgmental stares and comments from adults and other children.

“There was always blood on her clothes [because of the infection], and I was scared to take her outside,” Savina admits. “[Whenever I did], people would give us horrible looks, children would stare and adults would make nasty comments.”

Toddler ‘eaten alive’ by herpes after kissing infected relative is smiling again after months of recovery https://t.co/m4dNF8jIVM

— SunHealth (@TheSunHealth) November 16, 2016

After taking Sienna to see skin care specialists for her worsening condition, it was revealed that not only did the child suffer from herpes, but she also had a mild case of eczema, which made it tougher for her skin to heal from the first problematic infection. After being given flucloxacillin antibiotics to fight off the latter health issue, Sienna’s skin finally began to clear up.

“For the past few months, Sienna’s face has looked amazing and the infection has not returned,” her mother beamed. “There is always a chance of it coming back, but [I’m keeping my] fingers crossed [that] it won’t happen, and her skin will stay as good as it is now.”

Doctors have also told Savina that as Sienna ages, her body will be able to better fight off infections. Right now, however, she’s just looking forward to making up for lost time.

“It’s great to be able to go outside and not get any horrible comments from anyone,” she says. “Whereas before people were nasty to Sienna, now everyone is overwhelmed at how her face has healed, and that’s amazing to see.”

[Featured Image by Mizina/iStock]

Glouchester Toddler, 3, Is Nearly ‘Eaten Alive’ By Herpes Contracted From Family Member is an article from: The Inquisitr News