Parents, be careful of where you place household items, no matter how harmless they may seem. A 2-year-old girl suffered serious burns to her lips and skin, after accidentally ingesting a cleaning powder she’d reportedly mistaken for milk powder.
Parents, be careful of where you place household items, no matter how harmless they may seem. A 2-year-old girl suffered serious burns to her lips and skin, after accidentally ingesting a cleaning powder she’d reportedly mistaken for milk powder.
Photo: applydaily.com
According to Chinese media reports, the incident occurred on Aug 24 in Fuzhou, China. Unaware that the packet contained a strong cleaning agent for washing machines and not just regular laundry detergent, family members had placed the packet in a low cabinet at home.
Attracted by its colourful packaging, the toddler named Xiaoyun managed to get a hold of the washing powder and chewed off part of the plastic, consuming some of the powder in the process. The girl immediately began to wail in pain and fright.
Photo: appledaily.com
Her grandmother responded immediately and tried to get her to regurgitated what she had consumed , but Xiaoyun continued to cry and drool uncontrollably.
Other family members then attempted to rinse her mouth with warm water and even fed her cooking oil in an effort to soothe her pain.
However, after a minute, Xiaoyun’s lips turned n purple and within three to four minutes, her lips began to blister and ooze blood, Sina reported.
Photo: Internet
The child was rushed to hospital though by the time she arrived, three hours had passed. According to reports, the girl is still recovering in hospital but her condition is not known.
Doctors found that Xiaoyun had suffered severe burns not just on her lips but her mouth, tongue and digestive tract. Parts of her body were also burned as some of the strong alkaline powder had gotten onto her skin in the ensuing panic following the accident.
According to the hospital superintendant surnamed Wang, in such cases of poisoning, family members should not induce vomiting, as it could cause perforation, bleeding or serious injury to the esophagus and digestive tract. If the child is unconscious or had accidentally consumed gasoline or kerosene, forcing him or her to vomit may also cause suffocation, said Wang.
