A four-year-old toddler was blinded in one eye after biting a common household item that her mom gave her to hold.
Luca de Groot was helping her mom, Jodi Lowe, with household chores when the ‘traumatic’ incident happened.
The little girl immediately began screaming and inadvertently rubbed the product across her eyes before Lowe could intervene.
The toddler’s mom, who lives in Perth, Western Australia, said: “It’s been pretty traumatic. It’s not easy seeing your daughter in so much pain with nothing you can do.”
When Lowe’s back was turned, the four-year-old had bitten into a Persil laundry pod, which had then burst onto her face.
The mom-of-one recounted: “Luca was helping me with the laundry and I gave her the pod just to hold while I put the washing on.
“And by the time I’d turned around, she’d already bitten into it, and it went into her eyes. They’re quite solid, so when you pop them, they spray.
“And kids being kids, she rubbed her eyes, which meant it went across both eyes.
“She’s never had the urge to bite before. It’s very out of character for her. She helps me with the laundry a lot, but doesn’t normally play with them.”
Lowe rushed her daughter into the shower, attempting to rinse out the chemicals. She also checked the laundry pod packaging, which advises to ‘immediately flush [eyes] with water… and seek medical advice.’
“I put her into the shower and looked at the back of the product, and it said to ‘seek medical advice’ so I didn’t think it was going to cause much of an issue,” the mom explained.
“She was screaming and really upset.”
With Luca’s screams worsening, Lowe took her to the hospital, where she was then rushed into surgery. Four attempts to flush her eyes had previously failed.
A second operation uncovered a defect in the little one’s eye. A third surgery consisted of an amniotic membrane transplant to encourage healing.
Lowe added: “There was a point where they thought she’d need a fourth surgery because she wasn’t opening her eyes, but we managed to encourage her to open her eyes.”
Days after being exposed to the detergent, Luca’s eyes became red and swollen while also covered in painful blisters and scabs – as shocking photos show.
The little girl was discharged from the hospital after 16 days, however, her sight has yet to fully return due to a visual impairment caused by the accident.
The laundry capsule is sold as Omo in Australia but is marketed in the U.K. under Persil.
Luca’s mom believes the current warnings on Persil and Omo packaging are ‘not good enough,’ and insists they should be changed.
The mom said: “I know [Persil] says keep them away from the kids, but on the packet it doesn’t say anything about going to a hospital. It just says ‘seek medical advice.’
“It needs to be more. It’s not good enough how it is.
“I didn’t realize the extent of injuries they could cause. You wouldn’t think direct contact could cause pretty excessive burns, three surgeries, and 16 days in hospital.
“There needs to be more awareness on their packaging.”
A Unilever spokesperson stated: “Consumer safety is of paramount importance to Unilever. Any incident with children involving laundry capsules is one too many.
“Our liquid detergent capsules are not intended for use by children, and packaging is fitted with child safety closures and warnings on the front and back of pack.
“We have spoken to the mother about her child’s incident and will conduct a review of the warnings and safety advice on our laundry capsule range in Australia.”
