Water beads sending more kids to emergency room

With their bright colors and smooth, velvety texture, it’s no wonder water beads are a favorite among kids, as they provide a fun tactile experience and grow exponentially. But researchers found that while water beads may look fun, they’re not safe at all — especially for young children.

According to a team of researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, there were more than 8,000 U.S. emergency room (ED) visits due to water droplets from 2007 to 2022.

But the risks appear to be increasing, just like the beads themselves. From 2021 to 2022, these visits increased by more than 130%.

“This study cannot determine Why “The number of emergency department visits is increasing,” explained the study’s senior author Gary Smith, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.[However]swallowing objects and putting them in the ears or nose is common in young children [and] Due to the swelling properties of water droplets, the risk of injury is particularly high.

Dr. Smith said that, similar to high-powered magnets, they pose a greater risk than typical small objects accidentally swallowed. “The hazards of these two products are particularly caused by the intestinal environment. [Plus, water beads] They may look like powdered sugar or candy to small children, which makes them easier to ingest.

In the study, most children who visited the emergency department swallowed the beads (46 percent) and then put the beads in their ears (33 percent) or nose (12 percent). Furthermore, eye injuries accounted for 9% of cases and occurred when beads were fired from a “gel blaster” gun.

What makes water beads so dangerous?

Dr. Smith said the water beads are made of super absorbent material and can expand to hundreds of times their original size when exposed to water and other liquids. As mentioned earlier, while they are most commonly sold as sensory toys, they are also used as gel bombs for toy gel guns.

If swallowed, the beads can swell in the gastrointestinal tract and cause intestinal obstruction or even death, said Todd Zimmerman, a pediatric emergency medicine physician and medical director at Pediatrix Medical Group.

“In addition, they may present a choking risk and may contain toxic chemicals,” he said. “Some children put toys in their mouths with no intention of swallowing them, but it just happens. Some children may also think it’s funny to swallow the toys. Of course, some children may mistake it for candy.”

If ingested, the beads can also block a child’s airway or rupture the eardrum once they reach their full size after exposure to body fluids or moisture, said Omoyemi Adebayo, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland and president of FACEP. center.

“If only one or a few of them [beads] If accidentally inhaled by a child, the child may begin to suffer from mysterious, recurring bouts of pneumonia or bronchitis because these foreign objects remain in the airways, essentially acting like magnets that attract bacteria. “Also, these infections can appear unexplained because the beads are difficult to identify with routine X-rays of the neck, chest, or abdomen.”

What measures are being taken to address the risks?

Researchers note that despite product recalls and the current American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM F963-23) voluntary sex toy safety standard, water beads are still marketed as sensory toys to young children and their parents. What’s more, at least one child died from ingesting water beads. These facts suggest that current prevention strategies are not enough.

To have an impact, revisions to the ASTM F693 standard and other policy efforts should focus on the swelling properties of water beads rather than using intestinal measurements to determine their safety, Dr. Smith said. The standard also needs to address the use of beads in gel spray guns for older age groups.

Additionally, these products are marketed as sensory products to children aged 3 and 4 years. “In our study, this age group accounted for 21 percent of intake,” he said.

Currently, legislation called “Esther’s Law” has been proposed in the U.S. Senate in May 2024, which would prohibit water beads from swelling by 50% or more due to hydration, or from swelling to 3 mm or more. The bill is similar to the Ban the Beads Act, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2023.

The proposed legislation applies not only to water beads sold as toys, but also to water beads sold as educational materials, art materials or sensory materials. Meanwhile, the researchers noted that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is also considering further regulation of water beads; many retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, have stopped selling the products in stores and online.

alternatives to water beads

Because water beads are so popular and they’re not electronic toys, Kristina Johns, MD, MSEd, FAPE, a pediatric emergency medicine physician and senior medical advisor at PM Pediatric Care Centers, says she can understand Attraction to parents. But if you’re looking for cool non-tech toys for your kids, she says it’s better to look for alternatives than letting your kids play with water beads.

“To get the same sensory experience, I recommend food-safe sensory experiences like pasta, small tapioca pearls or jelly cubes,” she says. “Frozen fruit like watermelon covered with cheesecloth also makes for a safe way for a baby or toddler to have something to chew on.”

Dr. Adebayo said there are many sensory toys that don’t start out the size of nerdy candy and expand to the size of marbles that people can explore. “The idea is to avoid small, bright and bite-sized items that can easily get lost in carpets and subsequently discovered and swallowed by small children.”