Featured Image Credit: Kennedy
Topics: Australia, World News
Poppy Bilderbeck
A mom has spoken out in warning after her toddler had to undergo three surgeries after she briefly left the four-year-old with a common household item in her hands.
On March 23, Jodi Lowe from Perth, Australia, was doing some washing and had her four-year-old daughter, Luca de Groot, with her.
Knowing it wasn't in her daughter's nature to 'have the urge to bite,' Jodi handed the toddler a washing capsule pod and then briefly turned her back to put the washing on.
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However, by the time she turned back, Luca had 'already bitten into it' and it had sprayed all over her, straight into her eyes.
The toddler immediately began rubbing her eyes, spreading the capsule's liquid further.
The mom quickly grabbed her and rushed her daughter to the shower, looking to the capsule's container for further advice.
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Jodi said: "I put her into the shower and looked at the back of the product and it said to 'seek medical advice' so I didn't think it was going to cause much of an issue."
However, after rinsing her daughter's eyes with water, Luca was still 'screaming and really upset'.
When the little girl still didn't calm down, the mom 'called a poison line and asked for advice and they told [her] to go to hospital'.
The toddler ended up in hospital for 16 days and underwent three different surgeries on her eyes after doctors' attempts to flush her eyes out failed.
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It was discovered Luca had been visually impaired by the accident and during the second surgery, medical professionals found she had a defect. The third later saw the toddler undergo an amniotic membrane transplant.
Upon being discharged from hospital, Jodi was told her daughter's sight would thankfully return in time. They also noted it could take as long as six to 12 months for the redness around her eyes to go.
Jodi said: "There was a point where they thought she'd need a fourth surgery because she wasn't opening her eyes but we managed to encourage her to open her eyes.
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"Her sight in her left eye isn't fully there yet but is coming back slowly. She has a slight vision impairment."
Luca's grandmother noted that while the doctors think the damage to the toddler's eyes 'won't be permanent,' they heard of another little girl who did the same who wasn't 'so lucky' and was left with 'permanent damage to one eye'.
The mom has since reflected on the experience as 'pretty traumatic,' noting how hard it was seeing her daughter in 'so much pain'.
She hopes in speaking about Luca's experience it may raise awareness with child caregivers but also encourage clothes washing tablet producers to add further instructions to the back of their products.
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Jodi argued: "I know [companies] say keep them away from the kids but on the packet it doesn't say anything about going to a hospital. It just says 'seek medical advice'. It needs to be more. It's not good enough how it is.
"I didn't realise the extent of injuries they could cause. You wouldn't think direct contact could cause pretty excessive burns, three surgeries and 16 days in hospital.
"There needs to be more awareness on their packaging."
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A spokesperson for Unilever - the company behind the brand of washing tablets Jodi used - said: "Consumer safety is of paramount importance to Unilever. Any incident with children involving laundry capsules is one too many.
"Our liquid detergent capsules are not intended for use by children, and packaging is fitted with child safety closures and warnings on the front and back of pack.
"We have spoken to the mother about her child's incident and will conduct a review of the warnings and safety advice on our laundry capsule range in Australia."