OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — It's been a scary handful of days for one Shenandoah, Iowa, family.
Hannah Rief says after getting sick on Thursday, her 14-month-old, Letty, only continued to get worse. It wasn't clear what was wrong. Scans were inconclusive.
But during emergency surgery at Children's Hospital on Saturday night, the issue was found: A water bead. The water bead had expanded enough to get lodged in the small intestine.
"When (the surgeon) said what it was ... my heart just sank," Rief said.
She said water beads were given as a gift to her oldest, now 8, a few years ago. One day, she says they spilled in a playroom, and she vacuumed them up after they dried. But she says Letty must've found one in the carpet.
"Parents need to be aware, teachers need to be aware, daycares need to be aware," she said. "If they would've waited overnight, it could've ruptured her intestine."
Letty is expected to recover at Children's Hospital for about a week.
Now, she says the family plans to tear up the carpet to ensure the beads are gone, and she's urging families to steer clear of the toy.
Angela Hanna, a pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital, said they'll see cases of water beads being ingested every few months. The soft, squishy toys are easy for kids to swallow, she said.
Because they don't appear on a scan, she said, it's hard to identify if no one witnessed a child swallowing a bead. She said in this case the bead wasn't discovered until surgery.
The biggest risk is that the water bead expands to be big enough that the intestine tears, Hanna said.
"We're seeing a lot of new toys come out," Hanna said. "Some of them we don't even know the risks and the dangers until someone comes in with a problem like this."
3 News Now reached out to the company of the water bead that Rief said her daughter swallowed. They said their products meet safety standards, but said several companies sell water beads.
"We are aware that there are many copycat products on the market that do not consistently meet safety requirements, particularly as it relates to size," the statement read, in part.
Typically, a bead that expands to less than an inch will pass through without issue, said Angie Pasho, an educational coordinator at the Nebraska Regional Poison Center. More than one bead or beads that grow to an inch or larger are of heightened concern, she said.
But she says every case is unique: Everyone who thinks they or someone they're caring for swallowed a water bead should call the poison center at 1-800-222-1222.
The center covers Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, American Samoa & the Federated States of Micronesia. They get calls about water beads more than once a week, she said.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement it is "working with the Voluntary Standards Community on the safety of water beads" and encourages cases be reported to SaferProducts.org.
The agency offered these tips:
- Individual beads are so small and it’s easy to lose track of them, so supervision is critical.
- If older children are playing with them, make sure younger children do not have access.
- Keep them away from young children.
- If ingestion is suspected, seek medical attention.
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