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Josie Gibson had to cut sugar out of son Reggie’s diet after gut problem diagnosis (Image: INSTAGRAM/JOSIEGIBSON)
Josie Gibson has issued a crucial warning to parents after her five-year-old son Reggie fell seriously ill due to a persistent gut problem. Between the ages of two and four, Reggie was frequently hospitalised with infections and underwent tests for various health issues including cancer due to escalating concerns.
After an extensive process, a doctor finally diagnosed that This Morning host’s only child had a chronic infection in his stomach lining and cautioned that he needed to alter his diet. Josie attributes the cause to her son consuming sugar from treats given by herself and other family members who wished to spoil him.
“Basically, where he was eating too many sweets and stuff, it was feeding this long-lasting infection and he had an infection on the stomach lining on the top of his gut, which was flowing through all of his body,” the 39-year-old explained, reports the Mirror.
“And course, the more sugar you give to your kid, the more it feeds the infection, and it’s just a real long-lasting infection in the end. Who knew? I had just to change his diet and get the sugar out.”
Josie Gibson has teamed up with Boots to help combat dental hygiene poverty in the UK (Image: BOOTS)
As a working mum, Josie confessed she was plagued with guilt at the time as she couldn’t always be there for Reggie when he was sick, but expressed nothing but gratitude for those who stepped in to assist.
After the harrowing ordeal resulted in her child’s hospitalisation, she is now emphasising to parents the critical need for a healthy diet, saying: “It’s very important that we give our children a good diet as much as possible, and try and keep them away from all the sugar.”
The relieved mum later shared an update on her son’s recovery, expressing her joy: “It was like I got my child back!”.
Not only stressing the significance of gut health, but she’s also teaming up with Boots to rally public support in donating dental hygiene products at The Hygiene Bank points located within the stores, to help the alarming issue of rising hygiene poverty in the UK.
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Chilling statistics released by The Hygiene Bank indicate that more than 4.2 million Britons are struggling with hygiene poverty, unable to afford basic grooming and hygiene items which many take for granted.
Particularly concerning is the fact that oral health in nearly a quarter of children living in hygiene poverty has worsened over the last year, with one in five of them reportedly missing school due to this.
Boots has made a generous commitment to donate 175,000 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste to The Hygiene Bank in an effort to improve oral health among children and pre-empt any further health issues.
Josie expressed: “It’s heartbreaking to see that there are kids out there that are going without basic dental products and the impact this is having on their health and education. I’m proud to support Boots and The Hygiene Bank to help ensure that every child has access to the dental care they need, and I strongly encourage everyone that can to donate un-opened dental essential products at their local Boots store so that every child can go back to school with a healthy smile.”
She also shared some tips for parents struggling to get their children to brush their teeth, suggesting turning it into a fun game or brushing along to a song like Baby Shark.
“It’s hard to get any kid to brush their teeth, but we sing Baby Shark all the way through to brush his teeth, or any song really, and then we try and turn it into a game because it can be a process,” she shared.
“Lucky enough, Reg now, I’ve got to get in there, but he does brush his teeth now because we’ve made it into a game. He’s got all these little toothpastes and toy toothbrushes,” she added.
If you wish to contribute, you can visit your local Boots store and donate at the designated points.
Boots has also introduced a variety of educational resources on the Boots Health Hub to aid the nation’s oral health. To discover which Boots stores have The Hygiene Bank donation points, visit boots.com.
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