A Derbyshire mum has issued a warning to other parents after she discovered a "weird" rash on her baby.
Catie Josey was putting her son, Cody, to bed on November 1 when she noticed that he had large red marks on his stomach and back.
The 23-year-old, who previously worked as a Covid track and trace call handler but is now a full-time mum, initially thought that the marks were mosquito bites.
But after becoming increasingly concerned about Cody, she decided to take him to A&E, where he was examined by professionals.
They found that he'd actually caught Covid-19, with the unusual rash being a lesser-known symptom of the virus in children.
Describing how she first noticed the rash, Josey said: "I was putting him to bed, and he was quite warm. I gave to paracetamol but he woke up crying.
"I then changed his bum and noticed on his belly there were two marks and three on his back."
She then revealed that while professionals were able to tell it was Covid, most parents don't recognise the symptom, adding: "When it came back it was Covid. The doctor explained that most parents aren't aware that babies can get Covid rash."
Cody is now back to his healthier self, but things could have been much worse if he hadn't had the rash examined.
Josey said: "I know someone and her baby ended up with sepsis because she didn't listen to anybody about it. They took a turn for the worst."
Now Josey is trying to spread the word to other parents about her experience so that they know what to do if their children present similar symptoms.
Taking to Facebook to tell her friends and family what had happened, she wrote: "Some of you are aware but I had to take Cody to hospital on Wednesday as he came up with a weird rash all over his front and back but spread like wildfire all over his belly, back and bum.
"He was burning up with a temperature of 38.8 literally felt like he was a radiator."
She said that despite being a "bit fussy" Cody appeared to be well until he developed a rash and temperature quickly.
Josey added: "He was drinking fine, was a bit fussy the day before, eating fine & plenty of wet and dirty nappies. Turns out he had covid, still testing positive and now I am too after two years of avoiding it. His symptoms started Tuesday afternoon."
Cody's rash progressed over three to four hours and Josey described it as a "prickly rash with mosquito bite looking marks."
The NHS advises parents to call 111 or their GP if their child has signs of illness such as a rash or high temperature or if they are not their usual self, do not want to eat, or appear to be dehydrated.
