A Scots tot had a terrifying brush with death after coming into contact with a family pet.
Two-year-old Fergus McIntosh went into anaphylactic shock as a newborn when his uncle's dog licked him in 2019.
Fergus, from East Calder, West Lothian struggled to breathe as his windpipes began to close up amid the severe allergic reaction.
Medics told his parents, Alan McIntosh, 33, and Freya Mitchell, 31, that he would have died had they brought him to hospital minutes later.
Alan told our sister title, Edinburgh Live : "People don't really know or understand the severity of allergies.
"My son Fergus has multiple allergies and on more the one occasion been anaphylactic, which is life threatening.
"We didn't know he had this condition and found out he was allergic to egg after being licked off my brother's dog, back in 2019.
"His dog had eaten a trace of egg in his dog food, which we now know Fergus is allergic to.
"As you can imagine we were horrified."
He added: "We rushed down to St John's Hospital in Livingston, luckily just in time, as he was struggling to breath.
"His wind pipes were closing up, and we were told if we had been a few minutes later he wouldn't be here today.
"Fergus is now just two years old and probably been through more than most kids his age.
"This has happened on multiple other occasions with different foods."
The family, including Fergus' older brother Lochie, 4, are now on a mission to create more conversation surrounding allergies, and have clearer information displayed on food products.
The UK Food Information Amendment, also known as Natasha’s Law, comes into effect from the 1st of October 2021 and will require food businesses to provide full ingredient lists and allergen labelling on foods prepackaged for direct sale on the premises.
The legislation is being introduced to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy.
According to the new rules, PPDS (Prepacked for Direct Sale) food will have to clearly display the following information on the packaging: the name of the food., and a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised, for example in bold, italics or a different colour.
Alan also added: "Natasha’s parents have a Petition to Appoint an Allergy Tsar as a champion for people living with allergies across the UK.
"The Government should appoint an Allergy Tsar to act as a champion for people with allergies, to ensure they receive appropriate support and joined up health care to prevent avoidable deaths and ill health."
Fergus' family are fundraising for the Natasha's Allergy Research Foundation (NARF), who's vision is to prevent and eradicate allergic disease, creating a world without allergy.
Freya is walking the shale trail, which is 16 miles, on Saturday to raise money and awareness for the foundation.
Find out more about the petition on the government website.
You can donate to Alan and Freya's fundraiser via the official JustGiving page.
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