For many kids, bath time marks the end of the day, and adding more toys usually makes it more enjoyable.
However, one Illinois mother is warning parents about the dangers of a particular bath toy after her young son suffered a severe injury that nearly cost him his eyesight.
Eden Strong was giving her 2-year-old son, Baylor, a bath when she noticed his eye becoming irritated. Initially thinking it was just water, she soon realized the situation was much worse as Baylor’s condition deteriorated after the bath.
Baylor developed cellulitis, a serious bacterial skin infection, and within 12 hours, his eye went from mildly irritated to severely infected.
“His eye was bulging from his face,” Eden wrote in a now-viral Facebook post. “It was almost unrecognizable. He had a dangerously high fever.”
“I cried the entire drive to a larger hospital, praying he wouldn’t lose his eye.”
“The following week was terrifying. The cellulitis spread down his face and to both eyes. Doctors warned he might lose vision in the more affected eye, but thankfully, both eyes eventually healed.”
The cause of Baylor’s injury was a squirting bath toy.
“I later found out that these toys can harbor bacteria because the water inside them never fully drains,” Eden explained.
She posted alarming photos of her son’s injuries on Facebook to raise awareness among other parents. She received many messages from parents who had similar experiences with their children.
Eden hopes that toy manufacturers will address this issue in future designs.
She has since thrown away all of Baylor’s squeezable bath toys.
“Those toys are cute, fun, and affordable, but they’re not worth the risk,” she emphasized.
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