Britt Jones
Doctors have sounded the warning bell on a Christmas gift that could be deadly to those you present it to.
When it comes to giving gifts to kids, you'll like have to navigate a variety of new fads and trends, but the little ones' safety should always come first.
People often mistake popular toys as being safe - however, there is one sensory option that just might send your child to A&E.
According to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), there is now a ‘safety flash’ warning imposed on something marketed as toys for young kids.
Advert
The toy, which can be used in the bath, is often used for children and their sensory play, or even in paddling pools, or trays of water.
It allows the child to touch them, and splash around, and became overwhelmingly popular with parents.
The way they work, is that you pour a pack into water and watch them grow up to 400 times their size as they absorb the liquid.
Sadly, those toys led to the deaths of some children, who had consumed them.
We’re talking about water beads.
Whether they are in stress balls, art kits, or put into jars, water beads are increasingly known to cause ‘serious harm’ to children in the UK, and worldwide, as per the RCEM.
This is because children may eat them, and because of their translucent qualities, they can’t be seen on an x-ray.
The balls, which are millimetres wide, expand rapidly over the course of 36 hours, causing bowel obstruction when being digested.
The UK government states water beads are not suitable for children under five, but if you have children who are autistic, or/and have pica - a condition where a person eats non-food items - it may be best to steer clear until you are confident they will not put the beads in their mouths.
Scarily, there are more than just water bead dangers when it comes to choosing gifts for children.
In fact, there are two other risky presents that should be avoided at Christmas.
According to Dr Salwa Malik, vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine: “Any one of these three objects could be found under your tree or in a stocking this festive season, hidden in gifts that are intended to bring joy to a child or vulnerable person, but which, if swallowed, could result in critical illness and the need for emergency medical treatment.”
She said people should consider the dangers of the beads, toys with small batteries and magnets before gifting them. They can become stuck in kids' food pipe.
She explained to the Independent: “As an emergency medicine doctor, I have seen parents holding their child’s hand and watching over them while they lay on a bed in an Emergency Department, in need of urgent care because they have ingested one of these items.
“As a parent, I can imagine how utterly terrifying and a traumatic that would be to go through – for a mum, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, brother, sister and of course, the child themselves.”
She went on to say: “We are also raising awareness within emergency departments by circulating these safety flashes to ensure our colleagues in emergency departments are aware and informed about the dangers and equipped with the best clinical guidance to treat a child, or vulnerable person should they seek help after swallowing these objects.”
Button and coin cell batteries were found to have killed a little three-year-old girl after her parents were unaware she had swallowed one, as per the Health Services Safety Investigations Body report in 2019.
The college also noted the dangers of swallowing super-strong magnets, which can perforate the bowel if two magnets are drawn together in separate parts of the digestive system.