An Australian family experienced a terrifying ordeal when their 4-year-old daughter was temporarily blinded in one eye after coming into contact with a common household product—a washing pod.
Now, the parents are issuing an urgent warning for others to be more cautious.
The little girl, Luca de Groot, was assisting her mother, Jodi Lowe, with the laundry when, unbeknownst to her mom, she bit into a Persil washing pod. The pod exploded in her face, causing her to scream in pain. Before Jodi could react, Luca attempted to wipe the substance off her face, which only made the situation worse as it spread to her eyes.
In a panic, Jodi quickly rushed Luca into the shower and tried to wash her face, following the washing pod’s warning label that stated, “immediately flush [eyes] with water… and seek medical advice.”
Sadly, things only worsened, and Jodi took Luca to the hospital.
Doctors attempted to flush her eyes out four times without success. This led to emergency surgery in the operating room. According to The Sun, Luca’s condition required a second operation and then a third, where an amniotic membrane transplant was performed to help promote healing.
Luca spent 16 days in the hospital, and her sight in one of her eyes has yet to fully recover.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Jodi shared, “Her sight in her left eye isn’t fully restored yet, but it’s slowly improving. She has some vision impairment.”
“It could have been a lot worse. It’s been incredibly traumatic. Watching your daughter endure so much pain with nothing you can do is the hardest thing,” Jodi added.
Now, this mother is urging other parents to be extra cautious with this common household item. She believes that the current warnings on the Persil packaging (which is sold as Omo in Australia) “aren’t sufficient.”
She explained, “I know Persil says to keep them away from kids, but the packet doesn’t mention anything about going to the hospital. It simply says ‘seek medical advice.’ It needs to be more specific. The warnings aren’t enough.”
“I didn’t realize the extent of the injuries these pods could cause. You wouldn’t think that direct contact could lead to such severe burns, three surgeries, and 16 days in the hospital. There needs to be more awareness on their packaging,” she told Daily Mail.
A spokesperson for Unilever, the company that owns the global laundry brand, commented that such an incident is one too many. They emphasized that their products are “not intended for use by children,” and that the packaging includes child safety closures along with warnings on both the front and back.
They also mentioned that they have contacted the mother and are considering reviewing the warnings and safety guidelines for their products in Australia.