A SIMPLE haircut has turned into a year-long horror story after a seven-year-old boy contracted a fungal infection from a barber shop which left him requiring multiple courses of medication and regular blood checks.
Hudson Leo went for what he and his parents thought would be a simple haircut at a shop in Cudworth last February, not realising the long-lasting effects the innocuous visit would have.
The following morning, the youngster woke up complaining about an itchy and irritated scalp.
“There was a perfect circle on his head,” his mum, Kelly Lee, told the Chronicle.
“I’m a trained beautician, I’ve learnt all about fungal infections and how to protect from them so I knew that it was ringworm.
“We went to the pharmacy and got some cream - it didn’t clear so we went to the doctor who gave him some stronger cream.
“It just carried on getting worse.”
Despite its name, ringworm is not actually caused by a parasite but is a fungal infection that spreads through physical contact.
The 40-year-old mum also ended up suffering with the infection, which has left a scar on her shoulder, but didn’t have to face as many problems as her son.
Over time Hudson’s rashes became infected, causing him to take a course of antibiotics, and by April last year the family turned dermatologists to seek help.
“The first appointment was this week,” Kelly added.
“We’ve been on a waiting list all this time - we tried to go private but everyone’s the same.
“He’s on a course of antifungal medicine that’s so strong he has to have regular blood tests to make sure it’s not affecting his liver.
“We’re just hoping this is the end of it.”
Thankfully for the youngster, the rashes have stopped hurting, but he’s been left with marks and bald patches that doctors aren’t certain will heal when things are done.
“He’s been to school and kids have noticed and been saying stuff to him - even adults are asking about what’s wrong.
“Obviously it’s made him feel really self-conscious.
“But I’ve had messages from people whose kids have had a lot worse cases than Hudson.
“It’s getting everywhere.”
Kelly clarified that she is not sharing her son’s story to ‘get a business closed down’, but rather wants to raise awareness of the dangers and see better protections put in place.
“These places are having people come in one after another without cleaning their equipment - it’s like a conveyor belt.
“You can get antifungal spray that works in minutes but these places have nothing like that.
“Trained barbers tend to know what they’re doing but there’s a lot who’ve not had full training.
“We need the council or environmental health to be checking on these things.”
Just a few months back, Mike Taylor - who runs a barbering academy in Dorset - spoke to the BBC about similar issues and called for higher standards industry-wide to help avoid these types of cases.
He particularly called out the rising popularity of skin fades - which is the type of cut Hudson had - as part of the problem, as unclean clippers are directly touching the skin.
However, the government have said they have no plans to regulate the industry.
A spokesperson said: “We have no plans to regulate the hairdressing sector, however we will always seriously consider evidence when it’s provided.
“We work closely with the industry to address skills and training needs, and HMRC is also working to tackle tax fraud in the sector.”
