Charlie Simpson has experienced a "terrifying" three days after his young son was hospitalised due to secondary drowning.
Charlie Simpson's son was hospitalised on holiday
The Busted singer's little boy Jago, four, fell ill hours after experiencing a coughing fit while swimming on holiday and though a doctor initially diagnosed food poisoning, he then urged the 37-year-old star and his wife Anna to take the youngster to hospital after hearing about the events earlier in the day.
Little Jago's condition "deteriorated" on the way to hospital, but after several days of treatment, he is now on the mend.
Sharing a photo of Jago in hospital, Charlie - who also has six-year-old Arlo with his wife - wrote on Instagram: "I wanted to share a terrifying experience we had recently with my youngest son Jago, in the hope that if it helps just one person avoid a similar situation, it will be worth it.
"We were on holiday enjoying a morning in the pool. Jago is a strong swimmer for his age and he was swimming under water but suddenly came up spluttering and coughing. At no point was he left unattended, It was momentary, nothing seemingly unusual for kids to experience. We got him out and he seemed fine and happy and was completely normal for the rest of the day.
"At dinner he became very lethargic and went to sleep in my wife’s arms. After dinner he suddenly woke up and started projectile vomiting. We called a doctor immediately who initially diagnosed it as as food poisoning and advised that we put Jago to bed in our hotel room and keep an eye on him.
"Before the doctor left, I suddenly remembered Jago coughing in the pool that morning and I remembered reading about a condition called secondary drowning, so I relayed it to the doctor. After hearing this, his demeanour changed and he told us to go to A E straight away.
"During the hour long journey to hospital, Jago’s condition deteriorated and he seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. He was rushed through to have CT scans and X-Rays and to our absolute horror, we were told that he had water in his lungs and was minutes away from pneumonia.
"Jago was diagnosed with secondary drowning. He spent the next three days in hospital and I’m so thankful for the amazing care he received. It was the worst thing we have ever experienced. The scariest thing of all, is that had we not taken him to hospital when we did, the outcome could have been very different."
Charlie urged people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of secondary drowning, as it is a condition so few people know about.
He continued: "After doing a lot of research, secondary drowning is seemingly quite rare but even so, not talked about. It takes less than half a glass of inhaled water to drown. Symptoms can start as long as 72 hours after the event which can make them hard to diagnose. These include vomiting, fever, laboured breathing and lethargy.
"I truly hope no one ever has to experience this but I hope to be able to raise some awareness of this frightening condition in case they do. x"
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