Mum alerts other parents about a potentially dangerous product after her toddler suffers from third-degree burns – “You could see the bone.”
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When you’ve got little ones running around the house, even the most seemingly innocent items can be potentially harmful if you’re not extra careful.
Emily Tooth was in the middle of preparing meals in the kitchen when she heard a spine-chilling scream. With no hesitation, she dropped the plate she was holding and sprinted towards the harrowing sound.
She stumbled on her seven year old son, Heath, in agonising pain. “His whole hand was just white,” she recalled.
Earlier in the day, Heath had been suffering from a stubborn cold, so Emily thought it was best to leave on a trusty product that has consistently helped relieve her family’s cold and flu symptoms – a vaporiser.
The mum had been using a vaporiser for years prior to this incident and the product isn’t a stranger to fellow parents too. It’s available in many department stores and pharmacies.
The seemingly innocent and common household product. Image Credit: Healthline
“Vaporisers may help ease throat irritation and congestion by adding moisture to the air. Dry air with cold temperatures may promote the transmission of viruses, making an infection more likely. Adding moisture to the air may, therefore, help protect against infections.” states Alana Biggers, MD on Medical News Today.
A standard vaporiser features an internal heating technology that boils water as well as essential oils before releasing it into the air as steam.
So when little Heath caught a cold, Emily hoped that the eucalyptus oil she added would help clear his blocked nose. She placed the vaporiser on a low-to-the-floor ledge behind the baby’s cradle before putting Heath down and quietly stepping out of the room.
After a couple of hours, Heath woke up and Emily decided to place down on a rug for him to wriggle around on before continuing with her daily chores.
But only a few minutes later, she heard him let out a horrifying shriek.
“It’s a sound that I will never forget,” the mum said.
Dashing to his aid, Emily caught sight of the baby with his hand hovering over the steam on the vaporiser.
“He was too young to have that reaction to move his hand if something was hurting him,” she says.
Emily jumped into action and lifted Heath away from the vaporiser before taking him to the tap and running his hand under cold water.
But the mum could see that the damage had already been done. As she ran his tiny hand under the water, it had turned into a pale white colour and the skin was peeling off.
“You could see the bone,” Emily described.
Little Heath suffered from third-degree burns. Image Credit: 7News
The distraught mother rushed her baby into the family car and made a dash for the local hospital at West Wyalong. After an urgent assessment, the emergency staff sent Heath and Emily via ambulance to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital.
With neither regional hospital able to deal with the extent of the injury, Heath was finally relocated to the burns unit located at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney.
Heath’s third-degree burns impaired multiple layers of skin and tissue to such an extreme point that his bone was left exposed.
He underwent a seven-hour operation where surgeons took the skin and tissue from Heath’s hip and transplanted it to his injured hand.
It was an excruciating wait for the concerned mother, but after several long hours, she was finally told that the surgery had been a success.
But Heath’s journey to recovery didn’t end there… With ongoing medical attention required, he was expected to visit the clinic, a seven-hour trip, once or twice a week for follow-ups.
Emily added that they were only able to make the long trips to the hospital thanks to the services of Little Wings, which is a not-for-profit organisation that provides free transportation services for ill children in regional NSW.
Little Wings usually arranges emergency air travel for sick children and their families as well.
But seeing that Heath’s case was ‘exceptional’, the charity provided him and his family with regular air travel to and from Sydney, including ground transport to Ronald McDonald House at Westmead.
Little Wings provided Heath with regular air travel. Image Credit: ICAP Charity Day
“I couldn’t have done it without them,” Emily said.
In the future, Heath will require more surgery in order to allow his hand to move freely as his body grows.
But as of the moment, he is a happy, bright toddler who, his mum describes: “can always make us laugh”.
Emily alerted fellow parents about the popular but potentially dangerous vaporisers, saying: “I will never have one in my house again,”
“I think parents should get rid of them or they (retailers) should only sell ones with a cool mist.”
According to Healthline, the biggest safety concern with vaporisers is the risk of burns from steam or spilled water. Experts recommended sitting at least a metre away from the machine when it’s left out in the open.
So, the next time your grandkids come over to visit, make sure to keep the vaporiser (if you’ve got one) as far away from them as possible! What are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments!
Learn more about whether humidifiers or vaporisers are actually safe by watching the video below:
Video Credit: Everlasting Comfort
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