A mum is warning parents about life-changing side-effect from having Covid that she says "no one is taking seriously".
But Dawn Kafi says since son Malisse tested positive for coronavirus, the youngster has been left with a debilitating disorder that has left him unable to eat as normal and saw the weight drop off, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Earlier this week, experts said that some children had developed fussy eating habits after having Covid, due to to parosmia - a disorder in which people experience strange and often unpleasant smell distortions.
The Liverpool mum says the condition can 'ruin lives' and is a lot more serious than a simple case of being fussy.
Dawn says Malisse tested positive for Covid back in September and lost his sense of taste and smell, but it was so bad that 'everything was making him vomit'.
Malisse was eventually diagnosed with parosmia and deteriorated in health as he lost 2kg of weight in just two days.
Dawn has since told the LiverpoolEcho that Malisse is still unwell four months on from testing positive for Covid, and is unable to eat proper foods.
She said: "This isn't a case of fussy eating, there's 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's thinks this is going to be for life, he's still so young and it's hard for him to process."
Dawn says the condition needs to have more research and awareness because 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."
Malisse was hospitalised during his bout of Covid, but because his sats and bloods were good, they did not seem too concerned.
However the schoolboy still continued to refuse food and meal times then became 'traumatic'.
Dawn said that the Fifth Sense charity - who deals with the condition - get calls every day from people not understanding what is happening to their loved ones.
Dawn added: "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."
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