Hello, I've just signed up to mumsnet for the first time since I was pregnant as am having a bit of a panic as my name would suggest.
Earlier today my toddler picked up a fake pebble from our gas fire and bit a chunk out of it. I fished whatever I could out of his mouth and washed his mouth out and cleaned his teeth but not sure if any of it would have been swallowed.
I was happy that he wasnt choking etc and was fine immediately after so didnt phone NHS direct or anything (got reassurance from my parents and husband) but have since read about what they're made of (refactory ceramic fibres) and they could be carcinogenic.
Feeling really cross with myself- we never ever use the fire so have no guard on it and he's never paid attention to them before. I've knocked some put accidentally once and just merrily picked them up and put them back without thinking to clean up any dust. I've looked in the manual and it says to avoid handling them and to clean up dust with a HEPA vac and when disposing to put in a polythene bag and avoid breaking up. I feel sick that my little boy had it in his mouth!!
It's the same stuff that fake coals would also be made from. Does anyone else have this in their house and have your children tried to eat and/or play with it? How much of a concern is it?