Charlie Simpson has shared a terrifying incident where his youngest son was rushed to hospital during a family vacation.
The Busted star shared a photo of his son Jago, four, in A&E as he described how his son had suffered secondary drowning.
The rare condition mainly affects children because their bodies are small and occurs when the child inhales water while swimming. Water enters the lungs and begins to accumulate over time, eventually making it impossible to breathe.
Rare condition: Charlie Simpson has shared a terrifying incident where his youngest son was rushed to hospital with secondary drowning during a family vacation
The rare occurrence can be fatal and symptoms appear within one to 24 hours of being in the water.
Charlie described his family’s experience in an effort to raise awareness of the condition, writing on Instagram:
“I wanted to share a terrifying experience we had recently with my youngest son Jago, hoping that if it helps just one person avoid a similar situation, it will be worth it.”
Charlie described what happened and continued: ‘We were on vacation and enjoyed a morning in the pool. Jago is a strong swimmer for his age and he swam underwater but suddenly surfaced sputtering and coughing.
Scary: Charlie described his family’s experience in an effort to raise awareness of the condition, which occurs when the child inhales water while swimming. Water enters the lungs and starts to build up over time
Family Vacation: Charlie and his wife Anna share two sons, Jago and his older brother Arlo, born in 2015
“At no point was he left unattended, it was ephemeral, nothing seemingly out of the ordinary for children to experience. We took him out and he seemed fine and happy and was perfectly normal for the rest of the day.
Iago’s symptoms didn’t start until hours later, when Charlie described how he “got very lethargic and went to sleep in my wife’s arms” while eating.
‘After dinner, he suddenly woke up and started throwing up projectile.
“We immediately called a doctor who initially diagnosed him with food poisoning and advised that we put Jago to bed in our hotel room and keep an eye on him.
A&E: Charlie described what happened and went on to say: ‘Jago swam underwater but suddenly surfaced sputtering and coughing’ Hours later, he started vomiting with projectiles
Fortunately, Charlie remembered reading about secondary drowning and had the instinct to tell the doctor about the pool incident that morning.
“Before the doctor left, I suddenly remembered that Jago was coughing in the pool that morning, and I remembered reading about a condition called secondary drowning, so I passed it on to the doctor.
“When he heard this, his attitude changed and he said we had to go to the emergency room right away,” the musician recalls.
Dad: Luckily Charlie remembered reading about secondary drowning and had the instinct to tell the doctor about the pool incident that morning (pictured with wife Anna)
‘During the hours-long journey to the hospital, Jago’s condition worsened and he seemed to drift in and out of consciousness.
“He was rushed to get CT scans and X-rays and to our absolute horror we were told 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 the hospital and I am so grateful for the wonderful care he received. It was the worst we have ever experienced.
“The scariest thing of all is that if we hadn’t taken him to the hospital when we did, the outcome could have been very different.
Charlie ended his post describing the symptoms to look out for, writing: ‘After much research, secondary drowning is apparently quite rare, yet it is not talked about. It takes less than half a glass of inhaled water to drown.’
‘Symptoms can start up to 72 hours after the event, making them difficult to diagnose. These include vomiting, fever, labored breathing and lethargy.
“I really hope no one ever has to go through this, but I hope to be able to create some awareness of this terrifying condition in case they do.” X’
Charlie and his wife Anna share two sons, Jago and his older brother Arlo, who was born in 2015.