Busted star Charlie Simpson and his wife had a 'terrifying experience' on holiday, when their son was hospitalised with an extremely rare condition.
Dad-of-two Charlie shared an image of his child on Instagram on Tuesday, informing followers that his youngest son Jago had spend three days in hospital abroad after suffering secondary drowning.
Charlie, who has two children with his wife Anna Barnard, opened up about the 'terrifying experience' that the four year old suffered, in hopes that it can prevent other parents going through something similar.
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The Mirror reports that the Year 3000 singer, 37, explained how Jago was 'minutes away from pneumonia', and how if he and Anna hadn't rushed their son to hospital the 'outcome could have been very different'.
Charlie captioned the image: "Hi all, 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."
Charlie then went on to explain how his son became extremely lethargic during dinner, falling asleep in Anna'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," the singer continued.
"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."
Secondary drowning - sometimes known as dry drowning - happens when water gets into the lungs. There, it can irritate the lungs' lining and can cause a fluid build up. This causes a condition known as pulmonary edema.
Charlie finished off his Instagram update by urging other parents to study the warning signs of the rare but potentially fatal complication. He wrote: "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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