Leah Green, an Australian mother, warns other parents through Tiny Hearts Education account on letting just anybody kiss their toddlers or babies. The mom shared that her 21-month-old contracted the Herpes Simplex infection on the mouth, which causes painful cold sores. She watched as her first child would scream in pain for three weeks long, which was a "horrific" experience for a first-time parent.

"Listen and learn from my first-hand experience why you shouldn’t kiss babies/kids, especially if they aren’t yours," she wrote in the post.

Leah Green

The infection is caused by HSV or the Herpes Simplex Virus which is found in 80% of adults. When active, it causes blisters to form around the mouth which can be painful and contagious for weeks.

Sadie was kissed by an adult and her mom noticed two blisters forming on her mouth. Her fever reached 39C,

Sadie explained, "Within hours the spots were spreading across her face, and white spots formed in her mouth, which turned into this awful puss-like stuff that was especially behind her teeth."

Leah Green

"The slightest touch would make the spots bleed and she would scream in agony."

Leah Green

Due to the pain, Sadie wasn't able to eat and drink properly, which causes her to suffer from dehydration. She's also lost weight and Leah recalled, "She was absolutely miserable and stuck to my hip for four days straight! Just attempting to put her down made her scream.".

Aside from the prescribed antibiotics, Sadie was also dosed with Panadol to deal with the pain 'around the clock' and all they could do was wait for the infection to die. Sadie has recovered from the infection and Leah wished this could serve as a lesson for other parents and a warning to adults out there.

"Please, please, please DON'T kiss or let anyone kiss your babies," she wrote. "Doesn’t matter who they are or if you think they will be offended. Hurt their feelings and keep your babies safe!"

Tiny Hearts Education, Leah Green

Several parents empathized with Leah and shared that a stranger's kiss has also spread diseases to their children. One wrote, "Our son was six weeks when he was kissed by someone with a cold sore and he got viral meningitis. He was on 24-hour antibiotics at the hospital for a week - it was the scariest thing for a new family and with him being so little."

"My son had this and omg it is so horrible and painful, the bleeding and he couldn’t eat for 12 days was so so sick, he hasn’t had it back again and hopefully never does," relate another.

Others showed support and agreement to her warning. One commented, "I wish more people understood how serious this was and didn’t roll their eyes at new parents. You don’t need to kiss a baby!"

Another wrote, "It absolutely annoys me so much when people try to kiss my children without any consent. Someone kissed my baby when they had a cold sore after I said not to and I was terrified for weeks she was going to get sick."