Photos: See Baby’s deadly allergic reaction to ibuprofen

The 15-month-old, from Southampton, was rushed into hospital on December 27 by his parents, Danielle Hart, 32, Dan Kirwan, 35.

He was struggling to swallow, was short of breath, and had a dangerously high temperature. Finley’s tiny body also started to develop an angry red rash.

It took four-days before he was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome – a rare but life-threatening skin condition, usually caused by a reaction to medication or an infection.

Doctors believe the reaction was caused by ibuprofen after he’d been given the liquid form for children, Calprofen, to ease a cough.

Finley’s organs began failing and his parents were told he might not pull through, but thankfully he survived and was allowed home three weeks later.

Danielle, a teaching assistant, said: ‘I was horrified when Finley’s skin started to blister, his lips were black and a red rash was covering his entire body.

‘We had no idea what was happening to him but we knew it was life threatening.
For the first few days it was touch and go, we were heart broken.

She added: ‘Both myself and Dan had never heard of the condition but we were terrified once we understood its seriousness.

‘I stopped at his bedside every night hoping his condition would improve. We were so relieved when he started to turn a corner, he’s our little fighter.’

Finley’s parents were told he had developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome due to ibuprofen or the herpes simplex virus – Danielle is sharing their story to ensure other parents are vigilant of the symptoms.

She added: ‘If we hadn’t have rushed Finley straight to Southampton General Hospital then he wouldn’t have made it through.

‘We could’ve easily put him to bed that night thinking he would be better in the morning but Steven’s Johnson Syndrome progresses so fast that he wouldn’t of stood a chance.’

Once Finley was in hospital his organs began shutting down as the allergic reaction was so severe it was causing his skin to burn from the inside out.

Tests showed that his liver function was low and he was suffering from a serious stomach bug that he had caught from being in intensive care.

Danielle said: ‘I was distraught, at one point Finley had blood pouring out of his mouth as his body was shutting down.

‘I felt helpless as nurses did their best to save our boy.’