Toxic toy: Family horrified
2007-11-09 09:30
Little Rock, Arkansas - The parents of a toddler were horrified when their child swallowed part of a colourful toy bead set made in China and then passed out.
He apparently was overcome when the coating on the beads metabolised into a chemical compound known as the "date rape drug".
"I thought he was going to die. I didn't want to tell my kids that, of course, but I thought he was going to die," said Shelby Esses, whose son Jack swallowed a handful of Spin Master Aqua Dots on October 30. "It was horrible."
In the latest recall involving Chinese toy makers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday ordered Aqua Dots off store shelves.
At least two children in the US and four in Australia have been hospitalised after swallowing the beads.
Spin Master Aqua Dots can be arranged into designs and then fused together when sprayed with water.
Jack Esses, 20 months old, started stumbling and throwing up the Aqua Dots after playing with his sister's set on October 30, his mother said in an interview on Thursday. For a time, he slipped out of consciousness - waking up only to vomit.
"I thought that the Aqua Dots had to have done something, but I wasn't sure because I didn't think they were toxic. There was no warning on the box that said they were toxic. It just said that they were a choking hazard," the child's mother said.
Unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death
Dr Matt Jaeger of Arkansas Children's Hospital treated the child and said he was very worried when he first saw him. The hospital started tests and performed a head scan, but within hours the boy recovered.
"He got better so fast we ended up letting him go home," Jaeger said.
Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolises into gamma hydroxy butyrate, the so-called date rape drug. The compound can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.
"He was out for about six hours, and he woke up just kind of on his own and, within minutes, was back to his normal self," Shelby Esses said. "He was just happy and yelling and wanting to get out of the hospital and causing a stir. All of the nurses wanted to come see him."
Jaeger said the hospital lab was able to identify the chemical involved after Shelby Esses brought in toy components for testing. Before Jack was released, his father crawled around on the carpet at home to make sure every Aqua Dot was out of the house.
Australia-based Moose Enterprises distributes the toys in 40 countries.
Peter Mahon, a spokesperson for Moose Enterprises, said the company was conducting an internal investigation to determine how the chemical came to be included in the beads, which are made at a factory in Shenzhen in China's Guangdong province.
He said "ingredients were switched at the point of manufacture without Moose's knowledge". He declined to give the name of the factory, saying it was "not appropriate" at this time.
Retailer Toys "R" Us issued a "stop sale" for Aqua Dots in its North American stores and on its website after it learned children had become ill.
In Australia, the toy was named toy of the year at an industry function. But the toys, known as Bindeez in that country, were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when officials learned that a two-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were hospitalised after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old and an 18-month-old also were being treated.
- AP