'I was hours from death after my rotting tooth sparked a killer infection'

was "hours from death" after contracting sepsis from his

James Alexander Thomas's chin to three times its normal size. The 40-year-old first noticed the swelling five days after he developed a. James was prescribed antibiotics for the pain caused by his lower left wisdom tooth, only to be hospitalised days later after his condition got worse. He was later told he had , and

James, from Wales, said his chin was inflamed and swollen, and that he had to remain in hospital for 10 whole days to recover from doctors surgically draining his chin. They removed the pus that had collected in his chin, and prevented the infection from spreading further.

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The content creator and father shared how he never knew his and has urged people to take their dental health seriously.

James told : "It started off as just a bit of toothache - my cheek was just a bit swollen. I went to the dentist after about four or five days and they prescribed me with some antibiotics."

The dad described "waiting for the antibiotics to work" and that "over the next few days, [his] cheek and chin started swelling, but [he still] felt okay".

"I just thought my face was puffing out because of the tooth. At this point there was pus coming out at the back of my mouth and that gave me a bit of relief," said James. However, after his face began to swell to triple its size, he had to be taken to nearby Morriston Hospital where doctors immediately conducted a three-hour surgery. After emptying his chin of excess pus and removing the rotten wisdom tooth, James was diagnosed with sepsis and warned that he was a "day from death".

He was kept in hospital for 10 extra days, and recalled: "When I got to the hospital, I stopped pressing my jaw and relieving all the pus so it started building up, and my face looked like Peter Griffin from Family Guy. I thought they would pop it like a spot, but then was told I was being put through as an emergency surgery."

He said: "If the operation didn't go right - I would've been left using a breathing tube for the rest of my life. That was when I started to panic. My whole neck was full of this gunk.

"This was all from The doctors told me if I hadn't been getting rid of the pus myself, I would've died a day earlier. They told me I was close to dying, I was quite fearful at the time, it all happened so quickly. It wasn't until I left the hospital that it all really hit me".

Fortunately, James recovered from his near-death experience and has now took it upon himself to educate others on dental healthcare. He continues to urge those around him to seek professional help with any health concerns and says he still has the rotten tooth in his possession.

James admitted: "I've still My partner won't let it in the house - it's in the shed. She thinks it's bad luck". He went on to say that "you just never expect something like this to happen from a tooth".

"It's typical of us men to think it'll be okay and that we don't need to go to the doctor or the dentist. Me and all men need to be better at seeking help. [My advice is to] go to the dentist but get to A&E if things keep getting worse."