A MUM has issued an urgent warning to other parents after her little girl was left temporarily blind when she turned away for an instant while doing laundry.
Four-year-old Luca de Groot was helping her mum Jodi Lowe with the washing in March when she bit into a Persil while Jodi's back was turned.
The pod burst onto Little Luca's face, who immediately began screaming and inadvertently before Jodi could intervene.
The mum-of-one rushed her daughter into the shower to try and rinse the chemicals out and checked the washing pod packaging, which said to “immediately flush [eyes] with water… and seek medical advice”.
As Luca's screaming worsened, a panicked Jodi took her little one to hospital, where doctors rushed her into surgery after four attempts to flush her eyes out failed.
A second operation found a defect in Luca's eye, while a third surgery saw her receive an amniotic membrane transplant to help promote healing.
Shocking photos show Luca's red, swollen , which broke out days after exposure to the detergent.
After 16 days in hospital, Luca was able to go home but her sight is yet to fully recover from the accident.
The , sold as Omo in but marketed under the name Persil in the UK, was branded as a three in one “comfort freshness” capsule.
Jodi, who lives in Perth, Western , believes warnings on the packaging need to be improved in light of her daughter's severe injuries.
Jodi, a 34-year-old sales manager, said: “Luca was helping me with the laundry and I gave her the pod just to hold while I put the washing on.
“And by the time I'd turned around, she'd already bitten into it and it went into her eyes. They're quite solid so when you pop them, they spray.
“And kids being kids she rubbed her eyes, which meant it went across both eyes.
“She's never had the urge to bite before. It's very out of character for her. She helps me with the laundry a lot but doesn't normally play with them.
“They do look and smell quite nice. They're attractive to kids.
“I put her into the shower and looked at the back of the product and it said to ‘seek medical advice' so I didn't think it was going to cause much of an issue.
“She was screaming and really upset.
“I noticed she wasn't calming down, she was still hysterical. I called a poison line and asked for advice and they told me to go to .”
While in hospital, Luca underwent three surgeries after doctors found a defect in her left eye, before having in which surgeons apply a piece of amniotic membrane to the surface of the eye to help speed up healing.
After a 16-day hospitalisation, Luca was discharged but doctors believe she will have redness around her eyes for the next six to 12 months.
Jodi said: “There was a point where they thought she'd need a fourth surgery because she wasn't opening her eyes but we managed to encourage her to open her eyes.
“Her sight in her left eye isn't fully there yet but is coming back slowly. She has a slight vision impairment.
“It could've been a lot worse. It's been pretty traumatic. It's not easy seeing your daughter in so much pain with nothing you can do.”
‘One incident too many'
Jodi believes the current warnings on the Persil and Omo packaging are ‘not good enough', insisting that they should be changed.
Jodi said: “I know [Persil] say keep them away from the kids but on the packet it doesn't say anything about going to a hospital. It just says ‘seek medical advice'.
“It needs to be more. It's not good enough how it is.
“I didn't realise the extent of injuries they could cause. You wouldn't think direct contact could cause pretty excessive burns, three surgeries and 16 days in hospital.
“There needs to be more awareness on their packaging.”
A spokesman for – which owns the global laundry brand – said: “Consumer safety is of paramount importance to Unilever. Any incident with children involving laundry capsules is one too many.
“Our liquid detergent capsules are not intended for use by children, and packaging is fitted with child safety closures and warnings on the front and back of pack.
“We have spoken to the mother about her child’s incident and will conduct a review of the warnings and safety advice on our laundry capsule range in Australia.”
