The young son of Busted star Charlie Simpson was hospitalised with a rare complication during a recent family holiday, leaving the singer and his wife going through the "worst thing we have ever experienced."
Dad-of-two Charlie shared an image of his child on Instagram on Tuesday and informed followers his youngest son Jago, four, spent three days in hospital after suffering from "secondary drowning".
Charlie - who shares two children with wife Anna Barnard - opened up about the "terrifying experience" in the hope it could help prevent fellow parents going through something similar.
The Year 300 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 - best known for his work alongside Busted bandmates Matt Willis and James Bourne - went on to explain how his son became "very lethargic" during dinner and fell asleep in wife 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 or dry drowning is term people used to describe another drowning complication. It happens if water gets into the lungs. There, it can irritate the lungs’ lining and fluid can build up, causing a condition called pulmonary edema.
Charlie concluded his Instagram update urging other parents to know the warning signs when it comes to 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."
In the wake of sharing the health update with his fans, Charlie's followers rushed to praise the star for educating others on the dangers of secondary drowning.
"Glad he’s ok! Secondary drowning is no joke - good on you for sharing this," one Instagram user commented underneath the snap of young Jago.
Charlie and wife Anna welcomed their youngest son into the world in February 2018.
The pair - who tied the knot in 2014 - are also parents to son Arlo Simpson, six.
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