Just hugging or tickling my little girl triggers an explosion of red-raw blisters – cruel parents drag their kids away

A HEARTBROKEN mum claims parents drag their children away from her "contagious-looking" tot - due to a rare disorder that makes her allergic to ticking and hugging.

Laura Smith was concerned and confused when her three-month-old Willow-Rae began breaking out in red marks across her back and chest.

The 30-year-old said doctors blamed the spots on allergies, eczema, birthmarks and chickenpox - but the blemishes continued to spread.

Laura, who lives in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, tried changing Willow-Rae's diet, swapping cleaning products and removing medications.

But nothing seemed to impact her baby's perplexing flare-ups.

As Willow-Rae became covered head-to-toe in angry, red spots, Laura faced questions from other parents who pulled their children away from her toddler out of fear she could be contagious.

The tot was eventually referred to a dermatologist.

After months of unanswered questions, Laura was finally told that her 17-month-old had mastocytosis - a rare condition caused by an excess number of mast cells gathering in the body's tissues.

Mast cells a type of white blood cell that are produced in the bone marrow and release histamine into the bloodstream when they detect allergens, causing an allergic reaction.

Laura, who owns an online gift store, has learned what 'triggers' could cause a flare-up in Willow-Rae.

They include: certain foods, sweating, teething, cuddling, tickling, and getting upset or too excitable.

People with mastocytosis also have an increased risk of developing a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction, meaning Willow-Rae could go into anaphylaxis at any moment during a flare-up.

Laura said her daughter's condition has put her 'on edge' - but wants Willow to have as normal a childhood as possible.

Laura said: "I'm on edge to even cuddle her because it can cause an allergic reaction.

"We still give her cuddles and put her emotional needs above this because she's still a baby but we do need to be careful about not rubbing her too vigorously.

"Even things like tickling her can cause a flare-up. We are managing it a lot better now.

"Because excitement can trigger her, when we were to take her out to soft play, we had to get her to sit down for ten minutes because she had a flare up.

"It's a constant battle. We still want her to have a childhood but still have to be mindful that little things can trigger her.

"It's hard to get people to understand that we're not being overprotective parents.

"It's really scary. She loves playing in the garden but I have this massive fear that there's bees around and if she's stung that can cause an overload of histamine.

"Too much histamine in her body can cause an anaphylactic shock. We're learning what she can and can't tolerate."

'HEARTBREAKING'

Laura said parents often ask if Willow-Rae is contagious and even pull their own children away from her at soft play centres.

Laura said: "The most difficult part for me is how she gets treated by adults. Some people will approach us and ask if she has chickenpox.

"We've noticed people pull their children away from her because they think she's contagious.

"We went away last week and got asked about 15 times if she was contagious.

"We've been shopping in Morrisons and people have come up to us asking if she's contagious.