Health Canada is warning parents and caregivers after several children ingested water beads and suffered life-threatening injuries requiring surgery.
Between June 2011 and this past January, Health Canada received six reports about water beads. Three cases involved injured children.
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System in the United States received at least 248 reports. The cases date back to January 2017 and involve children who swallowed the beads or put them in their ears, noses, and eyes.
The beads are also known as jelly beads, hydro orbs, crystal soil, sensory beads, or orb beads. They are absorbent and can expand to 1,500 times their original size in water.
Ingested, they can cause an intestinal or bowel obstruction.
The water beads are usually brightly coloured, and children or adults with cognitive impairments could mistake them for candy.
They are small, slippery, and bouncy. They are sold in their dehydrated form in individual containers but may also be in art kits, stress balls, foot baths, vase fillers, and gardening products.
If you suspect your child has ingested a water bead, Health Canada recommends calling the Canada Poison Centre’s hotline at 1-844-POISON-X. Watch for symptoms like vomiting, abdominal or chest pain, abdominal swelling or soreness, constipation, lethargy, drooling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, and loss of appetite.
The agency does not recommend parents keep water beads in their homes if they have a child under five, even if they are intended for an older sibling or adult. After use, thoroughly clean the surrounding area, and check under furniture, toys, and adjoining rooms to ensure the beads haven’t rolled away.
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