Illinois Toddler Nearly Loses Eyesight From Squirting Bath Toy
As you parents know, you're always on guard for things that could harm your child. How many of us ever put bath toys into that category?
We worry and try to protect our kids from things that will cut them, burn them, sting them, shock them, choke them...but I'll confess that I really didn't sweat the things that could (and were designed to) squirt them.
Eden Strong, a mom from Plainfield, Illinois, recently shared a horrifying experience on Facebook. Her 2 year old son, Baylor, was having a bath, playing with his bath toys, when he squirted himself in the eye with some water. After his bath, his eye looked a bit irritated, but sometimes getting soap in the eye can do that, so Eden wasn't overly concerned.
At first.
In less than 12 hours Baylor's eye went from looking a bit irritated to a full blown infection. Eden says that Baylor's eye was "protruding from his face," and he was experiencing a raging fever. Doctors told her that if the infection reached his retina he could be permanently blinded. They then told her if it reached Baylor's brain, it could be even worse.
So, what caused this sort of horrific reaction? A squirting bath toy. Or, more specifically, the bacteria that had built up inside the bath toy.
CBS-2 Chicago:
“I came to find out later that because the water is never fully expelled from those types of toys that they can just grow bacteria that you can’t stop,” she said.
Strong said she hopes manufacturers take a closer look at the toys they are producing.
“I’ve been shocked,” she said. “I have a completely full inbox with parents sending me pictures of their children who have gone through the same thing. It really does seem to be a design issue across all manufacturers and not just one specific one, so I really hope even those people will look at this and take that into consideration.”
Baylor has since made a full recovery and now plays with different toys in the bath.
“I would just throw all the squeezable ones away for sure,” Strong said. “I think those toys especially are cute. They’re fun. They’re cheap and they’re easy, but it’s not worth it.”