Doctors Warn of Threat to Toddlers from Gel Balls
Texas doctors are warning about the risk to toddlers from colored gel balls , small toys that can grow up to the size of a racquet ball once they absorb water.
Pediatric surgeons recently operated on an eight-month old girl who accidently swallowed a gel ball that expanded until it caused an intestinal blockage, reports Reuters Health . The case – the first in humans -- was reported in the journal Pediatrics .
The small colored gel balls are marketed as Water Balz by Ohio-based DuneCraft Inc. and can expand up to 400 times when placed in water, according to Reuters.
DuneCraft's CEO Grant Cleveland said that the product already carries a warning that it’s not meant for children less than 3 years of age. However, parents and doctors both need to be aware of the potential harm the gel balls pose to young children who accidentally ingest one.
A blockage caused by a gel ball may allow gas and fluid to collect in the intestines, writes Reuters . If not treated in time it could lead to rupture of the intestines, which could be fatal.