Mum issues urgent warning about laundry pods after one-year-old suffered horrifying third degree burns
Warning: Contains content some readers may find upsetting
A mum was plunged into her worst nightmare earlier this year when her beautiful baby girl was rushed to hospital after squeezing a laundry pod into her eyes.
Kelly Spampinato never expected her infant daughter Millie to get her hands on the dangerous pod, being that they were usually locked away in a kitchen cupboard and way out of reach.
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It was only after her six-year-old son and Millie's big brother opened the cupboard for another reason that the tot was able to reach them.
Whilst doing the hoovering in a separate room, Kelly overheard a concerning noise coming from the kitchen, before one-year-old Millie let out an agonising scream.
Immediately upon laying eyes upon her little girl, the Bristolean mother-of-two realised what was wrong.
"I was vacuuming in the living room when I heard her screams," she later told the BBC. "She must have squeezed a pod because her face was covered with it.
"I was heartbroken. I felt like the worst mum in the world and I honestly thought she would be blind."
Kelly attempted to splash cold water onto her daughter's face, but the tot couldn't settle down.
"I rang 111 and they advised us to take her to Southmead [Hospital] A&E," she explained.
At the medical unit, doctors continually tried to swill water around Millie's eyes to remove the harmful chemicals, but the toddler wasn't able to open them.
In fact, she remained in this harrowing state for several days, with Kelly claiming her other children were worried she'd never be able to open her eyes again.
"I didn't know what to say," the terrified mother admitted. "I never imagined this could happen."
A few days later, however, Kelly's prayers were granted as her little girl began to open her eyes.
And she was told by a consultant that Millie would thankfully make a full recovery, despite having suffered third-degree burns.
"When she opened her eye and put her arms out to me, we were all crying and and it was lovely," she said.
Kelly is now hoping that other parents will learn from her heart-stopping incident and be more mindful about where they store their alkaline-filled laundry pods.
"I wouldn't want this to happen to any other family, it's just been horrendous for us all," she disclosed.
According to medical professionals, if a child gets their hands on these potentially fatal cleaning products and it goes in their eyes, parents should rinse the eye with cool water for at least 20 minutes.
They should also seek immediate medical attention.
Similarly, if a youngster accidentally consumes the chemicals, mums and dads should get in touch with the emergency services immediately, being that inhalation can trigger both choking and breathing difficulties.
Rhianna Benson