A woman is warning parents after her two-year-old grandson suffered chemical burns to his face and body when he doused himself in kitchen disinfectant.
Albiee Turner managed to climb on to the kitchen counter when his pregnant mum Amy Turner, 23, nipped to the loo for a minute.
He grabbed a spray bottle of Fabulosa Electrify disinfectant and somehow managed to unscrew the lid and pour it on his head and body.
Horrified Amy discovered the screaming toddler covered in the pink cleaning fluid and unable to open his eyes, so stripped him off and rinsed him in the bath.
He was rushed to hospital where he refused to open his sore eyes for three days.
Doctors used a medicated gel and wrapped the tot in cling film to treat the blistering chemical burns which covered his chest, shoulders and neck, and warned he could lose his sight.
The toddler is thankfully on course to make a full recovery, but had to spend Christmas Day at home in Lewisham, south east London, wrapped in cling film.
His grandmother Karen Williams, 46, went to hospital with the tot because his mum Amy was nine months pregnant at the time of the accident on December 21.
Karen, a café cook, said: “Those three days were the worst of my life – seeing my grandson with chemical burns and unable to open his eyes is an image I’ll never forget.
“He was in so much pain – even now, when I close my eyes to go to sleep at night I hear his screams.
“We’re so grateful he was ok, he didn’t lose his eyesight and his burns have now healed – but at the time I was expecting the worst.
“But this should never have happened in the first place – it should not be so easy for a child to open the bottle when we have seen first-hand how much damage it can do.
“It was an awful experience for us – but it could have been even worse, and it could happen to other children too.”
Single mum Amy left him for a matter of minutes but returned to find him crying in pain and called an ambulance after he grabbed the bottle from the kitchen counter.
Not keen to wait, Karen and her partner Mark Turner, 49, rushed him to Darent Valley Hospital in Kent.
Karen said: “I remember receiving Amy’s call, and the moment she told me ‘I don’t know what to do, he won’t stop screaming and he can’t open his eyes.’
“My world just fell apart.
“I didn’t know what to think – but as soon as she said ‘disinfectant’ I assumed he’d never see again.”
Doctors and nurses in A&E tried to clean his eyes.
She said: “I held Albiee over a sink so that the nurse could prize his eyes open to wash them out – which lasted for nearly an hour.
“He was clearly in agony. It was truly horrendous. He wouldn’t stay still.
“I still hear his screams of ‘no nanny, no nanny’, but I knew they had to do it to help save his eyesight.”
Nurses said Albiee couldn’t leave hospital until he opened his eyes, because they feared he’d be blind – but the tot refused for three days.
He was discharged on Christmas eve and wrapped in cling film to protect his burns.
His burns are healing well and his eyesight has fully returned.
Albiee’s mother Amy gave birth to daughter Ocean on New Year’s Eve.
She said: “It’s been such a horrendous journey for us all.
“We really were expecting the worst – we thought he would never see again, and that was a horrifying thought.
“It should never have happened in the first place, because the bottle should have had a safety catch – and I hope someone takes notice after what happened to us.
“I still hear Albiee’s screams when I lie in bed at night, but I get a lot of comfort from knowing there was no permanent damage in the end.
“We’re so lucky to have Albiee back home safe and well, alongside his baby sister.
“It’s been a rollercoaster for us all.”
A spokesperson for Fabulosa said: “Our customers health and safety is of utmost importance to us and we take any reported incidents seriously.
“We are therefore very concerned to hear that a customer had a severe reaction.
“Fabulosa and its packaging is fully compliant with all disinfectant safety regulations, and our containers fully detail the product ingredients, as well as how to safely use them and any associated risks.”
