How much playdoh must he have eaten? Is it safe?!

[SinkGirl]

Picked DTs up from nursery at 1pm and they mentioned in passing that DT1 had been chewing on the play doh when they had it out earlier.

Took them home, put them down for a nap. He woke up about 3pm and he was doing the most horrendous noisy farts I’ve ever heard. Then there was an explosion sound and a giant splat.

Stripped him down and his nappy was full of... disgustingness. Imagine getting a bucket of mud, chucking in some blue food dye and some water. That’s what his nappy was literally full of.

A few hours later more of the same although not quite as much. More epic trumps before bed and some blue-grey slime...

Seriously, how much playdoh does a child need to eat for this to happen? Is the colour so concentrated that a little bit could do this and cause an upset stomach?

Do I need to be concerned? I’m assuming the nursery made it themselves - isn’t it mostly salt? Not sure if I should be worried as well as repulsed!

I think I would be minded to call 111.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-28951774

Playdoh is very high in salt, and the nursery may have mixed their own? I'd also be tempted to call 111. Especially if any high pitched cries in pain, pulling knees up to chest, any sweating or excess thirst.

Helpful bit at the end of that article too

"Common symptoms of significant salt ingestion are nausea, vomiting, irritability, headaches and for the child to be thirsty and tired."

It really would be highly unlikely he’s eaten enough to do any harm, it really tastes vile

How long ago did you put him to bed and how settked has he been?

Hi,
Salt dough is made with salt,playdough generally isn’t in nursery settings, At the nursery I oversee, and in various recipes on the internet,
playdough doesn’t include salt. It is generally just food colouring oil flour and water. How good are the nursery at communicating with parents?
would they have informed you if they playdough had been made with salt? As obviously ingesting salt in young children is a concern did they ask you to monitor?

Nursery may have made it without salt to be sure it wasn’t toxic. I’ve seen non salt recipes for this reason. Sensible to keep an eye for symptoms others have posted. Hope he’s ok-I’d certainly mention to nursery as should perhaps have been supervising more closely

He’s seemed completely fine in himself - he was home just after 1, slept til 3, awake until 8pm and there’s been no crying, no suggestion he’s in pain (even with the crazy flatulence), eating and drinking normally, not excessively thirsty etc. Watching him on a video monitor now and he seems fine.

He has ASD and is non verbal so can’t tell me if he’s in pain but when he’s ill it is clear from how he acts so hopefully he’s okay.

Will keep an eye on him and call 111 if he seems unwell / in pain. Will speak to nursery in the morning and ask what was in it. He must have had a fair bit to have poo of that colour and it has ovciously caused some irritation given the consistency.

That article is quite worrying! I am keeping a very close eye on him - if he sick, shows signs of a headache or anything I’ll get him seen immediately. The only reason I’m not panicking right now is that, aside from the explosive blue poo, he’s been completely normal this afternoon / evening, in verh good spirits, no distress or crying at all.

I’ll definitely be calling nursery tomorrow and finding out whether they’ve made it with high levels of salt. Unfortunately the taste wouldn’t necessarily deter him, both of them like to mouth / chew which the nursery are well aware of!

I’d want to ask them why he wasn’t being supervised a bit more closely? He must have had more than a try.

Hope his well come the morning!

Yeah, I definitely will - in fact we have a meeting on Thursday morning with their key workers and various people involved in their care (portage, HV, Council SENCO, community paeds nurse etc.) so I can mention it while I’m there.

I try to be as laid back as I can with nursery as I know that they can be difficult to supervise and that they don’t have a 1:1 ratio (or even 1:2 like I have at home during the day), but he really shouldn’t be getting the opportunity to eat enough play dough to turn his poo that colour. Unless of course it only takes a small amount, which it might - I remember the effect blueberries had on their nappies the first time they had them and it scared me to death!

So as long as they’re kept safe I’m quite understanding, but if it is high in salt and he’s been able to eat a reasonable amount then that’s really dangerous and it definitely needs to be brought up.

DT2 is currently in the 0-2 room despite being nearly 3 because of his excessive mouthing - that has improved a bit recently and we’ve talked about gradually moving him to the toddler room, but this has made me really question whether that’s a good idea!