Doctors issue safety warning over Christmas toys linked to child deaths

Emergency medicine experts have raised concerns about a popular toy that could be given to children this Christmas. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has issued a "safety flash" regarding water beads, which are often marketed as toys.

These beads, linked to child deaths abroad and "serious harm" in the UK, according to the RCEM, can be used alone or incorporated into stress balls, sensory toys, or art kits, and are also sold as home décor or vase fillers. Initially tiny, the beads can swell up to 400 times their original size within approximately 36 hours when they come into contact with liquid.

If ingested while small, they can expand inside a child's body, potentially causing bowel obstruction that may require surgical intervention and are not detectable on X-rays. The safety alert aims to ensure emergency doctors are aware of the symptoms to look for, but it is also a warning to parents and caregivers about the potential dangers.

Additionally, the RCEM safety flash draws attention to the risks associated with children swallowing button or coin batteries and magnets, noting that these items can pose a threat to children and vulnerable adults if ingested. Button and coin cell batteries, in particular, can become lodged in a young child's food pipe, leading to severe injury or death due to a chemical reaction that erodes tissue.

A 2019 report by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body highlighted the tragic death of a three year old girl who accidentally swallowed a coin battery, without her parents knowing. Additionally, a prior alert from the College stresses the severe risks to children ingesting super-strong magnets.

These magnets may attract one another within different parts of the intestine,