They’re small, colourful and marketed as secure sensory toys however water beads have despatched hundreds of youngsters to the emergency room—and now, consultants and fogeys need their sale to be banned.
Water beads can increase as much as 100 occasions their dimension when uncovered to water. If swallowed, they will trigger intestinal blockages, respiratory issues and even poisonous results on the mind, in accordance with a examine printed Jan. 28 within the journal Pediatrics.
In truth, one of many examine’s authors, Ashley Haugen, is aware of the dangers firsthand.
When her daughter, Kipley, was a toddler, she developed a rash, started vomiting and began scuffling with coordination.
Medical doctors later found she had swallowed water beads, which induced a extreme blockage in her intestines.
As a substitute, Kipley was recognized with poisonous mind encephalopathy, a situation that may trigger developmental delays and long-term neurological challenges.
An estimated 7,800 circumstances of water bead ingestion have been handled in U.S. emergency rooms between 2016 and 2022, in accordance with the examine.
In 2023, a 10-month-old youngster died after swallowing the beads, in accordance with the U.S. Shopper Product Security Fee.
Now 8 years outdated, Kipley remains to be recovering however has joined her mother in calling for banning water beads.
Haugen now runs an advocacy group referred to as That Water Bead Woman, which has sources for households whose kids have been injured by unsafe merchandise.
“It breaks my heart, what happened to Kipley. And for me, it’s been very healing to be able to know that that pain has a purpose,” Haugen mentioned.
Extra data:
Ashley Haugen et al, Intestinal Obstruction and Neurotoxicity Related With Water Bead Ingestion, Pediatrics (2025). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2023-065575
Quotation:
Mother and father urge ban on water beads after kid’s mind harm (2025, February 4)
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