Mom rushes daughter, 7, to hospital after squishy toy exploded in her hands
Warning: Contains graphic content
A British mom has spoken out after her seven-year-old daughter was left with huge blisters after her squishy toy allegedly started leaking on to her hands.
René Barnard had to rush her daughter, Livi, to hospital after the seal broke on her toy, said to be a NeeDoh product, which had cost around $17.
The mom said Livi 'loves' the toy and noted 'all the kids are playing with them at the moment', but things took a turn for the family after the young girl came home from school and started playing with the squishy toy.
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“We came in and I was cooking dinner in the kitchen and pottering around by the sink and she was at the kitchen table and she was like 'mum, the liquid’s come out and it’s burnt my hand'," René said.
The mom insisted that she hadn't heated up the toy - a controversial practise which is supposed to make them softer and easier to squeeze - and when she inspected Livi's hands she couldn't see any blisters.
Still, she ran her daughter's hands under the tap, and did a quick Google search to reassure herself the liquid was non-toxic.
"It was non-toxic so I thought it was going to be fine," René said.
However, every time Livi's hand left the water, she was said to be 'really in pain'.
"I was thinking ‘do I go to the pharmacy, what do I do?’," René recalled, adding: "She is a tough tomboy seven-year-old so when she said it started to really hurt I knew something was wrong."
René called the UK's NHS helpline and was advised to take Livi to hospital, but there was no burns unit at her local facility.
"They had to take pictures and send them to Birmingham Children’s Hospital," she explained, noting that by that time Livi had developed blisters. “We were then asked to go back the next day so they could treat her blisters, which required gas and air, and I now have to take her to the doctors every day to have the dressing changed."
Acknowledging there has been hot weather in the UK recently, René shared her plans to keep any similar toys in the fridge if it gets hot outside.
"If this was a toddler it could have been really serious - thankfully Livi’s nine-year-old brother is not interested in the toys," she said.
Bigjigs Toys, the exclusive UK distributor for NeeDoh, which is made by US firm Schylling, has said it is investigating the incident.
A spokesperson said: “We take all issues like this very seriously but we are aware of a number of fake products on the market so we have to determine if this was a real NeeDoh.”
UNILAD has reached out to Bigjigs for additional comment.
Emily Brown