To complain to Sainsbury’s about their Valentine’s balloons?

[BalloonTrauma]

I was blowing one up when it popped right in my face - forehead and cheeks now extremely painful, red and swollen. I wear glasses, so I don’t know if that had a protective impact, but I could have sustained a corneal abrasion or some eye injury... very scary to think about.

And it was still relatively small when it popped - hardly overinflated. I’ve never had this happen before either.

AIBU to complain about these bastard objects?

This is HILARIOUS! Thanks for the giggles, OP

Everyone needs a good pump on Valentine’s Day. Don’t do it yourself, you’ll go blind.

[quote TwoLeftSocksWithHoles]I have just completed some research into balloon accidents and the kind of incident OP refers to is not mentioned. It could be helpful to other balloonists if it was reported via Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)

asrs.arc.nasa.gov/publications/directline/dl9_balloon.htm[/quote]
Perhaps it should be reported to the Aviation Reporting & Safety Executive (ARSE)

😂

More fool you OP for falling for such tacky merchandise.

@Hetilia

Crikey op, hope you're ok. I didn't know that about heart shaped balloons. Does it say you should use a pump to blow it up? If not then it's certainly worth a complaint if nothing else.

It says nothing of the sort. I don’t know why people think I’m being melodramatic. I’ve linked to peer-reviewed research showing that heart-shaped balloons can be especially dangerous and cause eye injury when they pop during inflation (different to your usual balloon).

What’s wrong with pointing that out to the manufacturer? Would you really give one to your child (of any age) after reading the abstract I posted?

🙄

only slightly inflated before it popped,,, what evidence have you got, to uphold that statement,?
absolutely nothing whatsoever. everything that goes wrong in someone elses hand,was in its first part of life ie the factory tested, unfortunately the one you got went wrong for whatever reason,its all a gamble whatever you purchase in life, if it hadn't happened to you,the next customer would have got the product.
Out of the thousands that they sell,sadly you got the lemon,but it will come down to evidence,just forget it,lifes to short to worry about such trivial matters.
For what its worth,i absolutely despise balloons in forms.

Is it by any chance these ones that tell you to use a balloon pump?

I don’t know why people think I’m being melodramatic. I’ve linked to peer-reviewed research showing that heart-shaped balloons can be especially dangerous and cause eye injury when they pop during inflation (different to your usual balloon).

It may be hard to see due to the shock, but you didn't get an eye injury👁️ So it doesn't matter

@BobbidyBob

Everyone needs a good pump on Valentine’s Day. Don’t do it yourself, you’ll go blind.

It says nothing of the sort. I don’t know why people think I’m being melodramatic

You're not being melodramatic. I think lockdown has fried some peoples brains. The level of unpleasantness towards has certainly risen in the past few weeks.
If the instructions dont say you need a pump then definitely complain. And yes I do want to know about something like this and wouldn't want to give it to my child. Or anyone tbh. So thank you for posting even though you did get a hard time. Hope you feel better soon

@DrCindyPops

Is it by any chance these ones that tell you to use a balloon pump?

No. I wish the confetti had come separately, would’ve at least benefited from the purchase.

The tension must have been unbearable.

@Hetilia

It says nothing of the sort. I don’t know why people think I’m being melodramatic

You're not being melodramatic. I think lockdown has fried some peoples brains. The level of unpleasantness towards has certainly risen in the past few weeks.
If the instructions dont say you need a pump then definitely complain. And yes I do want to know about something like this and wouldn't want to give it to my child. Or anyone tbh. So thank you for posting even though you did get a hard time. Hope you feel better soon

Thank you

What a let-down.

I came here thinking "Valentine's balloons" was a euphemism for condoms.

My then 3 year old gave himself a really serious eye injury by a balloon popping in his face. Blue part of his eye pooled instantly with blood (hyphaema). We were straight to A and E and back in hospital every 2-3 days for 4 weeks for monitoring. Plus 3 different eye drops 4 times a day. Thankfully he recovered totally.

That said we didn't complain to the balloon manufacturers. I don't think they anticipated a 3 year old putting a balloon on a bed and then face planting on it as he tried to clamber up onto the bed. It was a horrific few weeks though. Balloons are banned in this house!

@BalloonTrauma

Mockery aside, and without too much searching on my part, I have found a fellow sufferer from a decade ago:

www.scotsman.com/news/nurse-sue-balloon-makers-after-explosion-leaves-her-blind-days-1666606

Sainsbury’s is the culprit here also...

Mrs Fox claims its battery-operated light fitting flew into her eye when the balloon popped as it was being inflated.

Did yours have a battery in it??

Sainsbury's have a note on their website that balloons should be inflated with a pump. I'm guessing there's also something on the shelf or the packet with the same advice. So you probably wouldn't get anything because you should have used a pump.

The dangers of a Valentine’s blow job

Sainsburys sells scooters, I fell off mine and I could have broken my leg. I didn't, but I found an article where someone broke their leg on a Sainsbury's purchased a scooter 10 years ago, although theirs was motorised and the break failed which caused the injury so not the same really. There was no specific warning on the scooter to tell me not ride it in case I fell off and broke my leg so I think I should sue for a potential leg break even though I didn't in fact break my leg!

at stampsurprise

Hate balloons. They're a choking risk to young children too, if they walk around with them trying toblow them up. Then the environmental impact. But people still love them.

OP, although this would be a bit like complaining to the manufacturer of a ball that flew into someone's face and broke their nose or whatever, I suppose you didn't see this coming and it must have been a shock. Hope you feel better soon.

@WorraLiberty

Balloons are so expensive in Sainsburys

But that's inflation for you

Every time I am blowing something I feel like it might take my eye out - going to take a tip from OP and start wearing glasses for protection from now on!!!!

DH will be surprised 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

I definitely wouldn’t blow again, and risk an explosion in my face!! Would pump forever after. Don’t worry about the comments on here op, people are full of hot air!

I think you’ve blown this out of proportion Op. I get how it’s got you all pumped up but hand on heart (shaped balloon) can’t you let it go?