Toxic dishwasher capsule loaded with chemicals explodes in child's face, causing severe burns and near loss of eyesight

Saturday, June 25, 2016 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: household cleaners, children, health dangers

---

(NaturalNews) A British toddler was nearly blinded after reaching through a gap in a childproof cabinet and pulling out a dishwashing detergent capsule, which exploded in her face and caused severe burns to her eyes.

Fortunately, doctors were able to save her vision after she was rushed to the hospital.

The child's mother, Simone Jones, said that she and her husband are always careful to keep hazardous substances secured behind childproof locks. But the close call has taught her not to rely on locks, and she now urges parents to store chemicals high up and out of reach.

"There was a small gap in the cupboard and as she tried to pull it out it obviously popper [sic] and just went all over her face and in her eyes," she said.

"It was terrifying and I just want to warn other parents to keep washing tablets away from children."

It happened in seconds

Jones said that she was preparing dinner while her 18-month-old daughter, Rainbow, was played on the floor in the kitchen.

"I had just turned my back just to turn their food over in the oven and in a few seconds I heard this huge pop and then screaming," she said.

Jones discovered that Rainbow had gotten hold of an Ariel Liquitab, and it had burst onto her face.

"When I turned round I just felt sick to my stomach and felt the desperate need to wash it off her and out her eye," Jones said. "So I grabbed her immediately and ran upstairs to put her in the bath I'd already ran for my husband. She was just screaming in pain and fighting everything I did, but I had to just keep rinsing her with fresh water."

After having her face rinsed off, however, Rainbow became lethargic and started going limp, so Jones rushed her to the hospital. There, doctors flushed her eyes out with a diluting solution. This action on their part was responsible for saving her vision.

Even so, Rainbow was left with burns over 95 percent of her left cornea and 5 percent of the right one. That means the protective layers of those areas of the eye were completely burned away, allowing damage to the cornea beneath. Because Rainbow was unable to keep her eyelids open for long, it took doctors a while to confirm that she was healing and will likely make a full recovery.

Detergent injuries shockingly common

Injuries of young children by detergents are shockingly common, with roughly one child a day needing medical treatment for detergent exposure in the United Kingdom alone – which has just one-fifth the population of the United States. According to the UK National Poisons Information Service, nearly 1,500 people received treatment for detergent poisoning between May 2009 and July 2012, nearly all of them under the age of five. Most had eaten or swallowed detergent, which can produce severe internal swelling and burns. Nearly all of the rest suffered injury from having the chemicals come into contact with their eyes.

Another high profile case in the United Kingdom last year involved a 17-month old girl who put a detergent capsule in her mouth. It was in her mouth for less than a second before her parents got it free, but that was enough time for her to swallow half of it and nearly die. Fortunately, that child also recovered.

Jones and her husband posted graphic images of Rainbow's injuries to Facebook as a way to scare other parents into taking chemical safety more seriously.

"What I've learned - the hard way - is that child locks are not 100 per cent effective," Jones said, as reported by the Mail.

"Also, I would advise parents in a situation like this to basically act as quickly as possible when contact with the substance occurs. The key things to do are not panic and stay as calm as possible. ...

"Immediate action is key for flushing these toxins out of the body."

Practical advice, but this story illustrates once more why keeping toxic chemicals out of your home in the first place is so important, particularly if you have pets or children in the family.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Science.NaturalNews.com