A baby girl's "chicken pox" turned out to be the worst case of a chronic skin condition a doctor had ever seen.
Jacqueline Smith, from Old Swan, wants to raise awareness of the condition which left her daughter Mabel Gilmore with a red rash all over her body. Mabel suffered from her first flare up of the rash days before her first birthday, which was initially diagnosed as chicken pox.
However, when the rash continued to get worse and Mabel started experiencing a high temperature, she was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital for further tests.
READ MORE: Arriva bus strike heading into third week as crunch talks break down
Jacqueline, 39, told the ECHO: "She caught covid and this is when it all started. She was really unwell with that [covid], then a couple of days before her birthday she had broken out with what looked like chicken pox. She was actually diagnosed with chicken pox but it's since turned out it wasn't that."
Once at Alder Hey, Mabel had to undergo a variety of different tests to determine what the cause of the rash was, followed by a skin biopsy in October last year. The results confirmed Mabel had psoriasis - a chronic skin condition that causes flaky patches of skin which form scales.
According to the NHS, psoriasis affects around 2 in 100 people in the UK and the severity of the condition varies greatly from person to person. In Mabel's case, Jacqueline said it was the worst psoriasis her consultant had ever seen.
She said: "It's so unpredictable, she can flare [up] any time. It can come up so fast as well. At the worst point we were in Alder Hey three times a week for her to be bandaged.
"They put steroid cream on and bandages on her to try and sooth her body. It normally presents on the backs of her legs and arms and it can affect her face as well. It comes up in dry patches and it can look like burns."
Jacqueline and her partner Ian Gilmore, 42, who both work for the NHS as a registered pharmacy technician and a clinical pharmacist, have shared Mabel's story to mark the start of Psoriasis Awareness Month.
According to the Psoriasis Association, while some people who are diagnosed with psoriasis have a family history of the condition, others don't. A flare-up of psoriasis can be triggered by different factors such as stress or anxiety, injury to skin, hormonal changes, or certain infections or medications.
Jacqueline said Mabel, who turns two later this month, has been in and out of hospital over the last year receiving a range of different treatments and she is now receiving immunosuppressant medication.
Jacqueline said: "It's been awful for us, going from not knowing what it was thinking it could be anything, constantly in and out of Alder Hey. She looks like she's been burnt when she's having a bad flare up and obviously you don't want your children to be on immunosuppressant medication, she's not even two yet.
"At the moment now she's on this medication, her skin does seem to be calm but obviously they have to do blood tests every week to make sure it's not having adverse affects on her kidneys or liver. The dermatology team at Alder Hey have been absolutely fabulous. I can't fault Alder Hey at all."
Despite everything she's been through, Jacqueline said Mabel is "always happy and smiling." She said: "Nothing gets her down.
"She's so good, always happy, always smiling. She's such a good girl, she's very brave."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here.
READ NEXT:
Brilliant photos of Liverpool in 1967 offer a window into the city's past
Dad ditches house for life on the road after 'midlife crisis'
Spain clarifies rule as Brits told they have to spend £85 a day
Mums blame cost of living crisis for stealing £2,250 worth of toiletries from Boots
Boy, 4, 'in tears' after being told he cannot board Ryanair flight to visit nan
