A mum whose son developed a rare disorder linked to Covid says he could have died and warned "no-one is taking it seriously".
Dawn Kafi said her son Malisse has been unwell for four months and unable to eat proper foods after developing parosmia.
The condition means he experiences strange and often unpleasant smell distortions.
Earlier this week, experts said that Covid was causing children to become "fussy eaters" - but Dawn said the term implies the condition is not being taken seriously as it can "ruin lives".
The mum told the Liverpool Echo her young son tested positive for Covid back in September and suddenly lost his sense of taste and smell and "everything was making him vomit".
After much toing and froing, Malisse was eventually diagnosed with parosmia and deteriorated in health as he lost 2kg of weight in just two days.
Dawn said Malisse remains unwell and four months on from testing positive for Covid, he is still really poorly and unable to eat proper foods.
She said: "This isn't a case of fussy eating, there are people out there laughing saying children are being fussy and it's very upsetting.
"Malisse is still very limited to his foods and he's still unwell. He's got liver damage because of the starvation, it should be taken more seriously than just labelled as fussy eating.
"It's a health condition, not just distorted taste or smell, it's life-changing. Malisse is very cold, he has no energy, is very frail and he doesn't eat much.
When he's in school he can't go into the dinner hall because of the smells, he can't go into supermarkets and he hates the smell of Alder Hey when he has to go for appointments.
"He's still very skinny and has had to have all new clothes. And he's just so sad, he thinks this is going to be for life, he's still so young and it's hard for him to process."
Dawn said more needs to be done in terms of raising awareness about the condition as so many families are left to suffer without "proper help".
She added: "People need to take it seriously. It's not a laughing matter. Those headlines this week with the term fussy eaters was quite offensive. Covid does not produce fussy eaters.
"It's quite worrying that it's not being recognised as a disorder. I didn't know what it was before. More awareness is needed.
"This has affected his whole life, he was hospitalised because of it. It will have an effect on him for life. We just don't know, if one day he does wake up cured, will his stomach have shrunk because he's barely been eating?
"People should be concerned, why is no one taking it seriously? I'm worried about his nutrition. Nutrition is important for children his age.
"If it was something else it would be taken seriously but being labelled as fussy eaters is damaging. If I wasn't so vocal, Malisse would be dead by now. Malisse was very, very ill, it wasn't because he was a fussy eater."
When Malisse was hospitalised, doctors said there was no major cause for concern because his sats and bloods were good, but he continued to refuse food which became "traumatic".
Dawn said that the Fifth Sense charity get calls every day from people not understanding what is happening to their loved ones.
She said: "More people need to be made aware and stop saying it's because children are fussy eaters or their parents let them eat junk. Malisse was left to suffer.
"The country is finally waking up to parosmia and that it's real. Malisse has had no support. Parosmia is not a behavioural issue like Malisse was accused of.
"I never want another child to suffer the way my child has, children are suffering and being ignored by doctors but my boy could have died."
Smell experts at the University of East Anglia and Fifth Sense, the charity for people affected by smell and taste disorders, say children, in particular, may find it hard to eat foods they once loved.
Fifth Sense and Carl Philpott, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, are launching guidance to help parents and healthcare professionals better recognise the disorder.
Fifth Sense chairman and founder Duncan Boak said: “We’ve heard from some parents whose children are suffering nutritional problems and have lost weight, but doctors have put this down to just fussy eating.”
The new guidance shows that children should be listened to and believed.
It suggests parents can help by keeping a diary of foods that are safe, and those that are triggers.
Help and advice for parents is available on the Fifth Sense website.
