BLOODY HELL! That was scary.

[MadamAnt]

We were plannning on going out for an early dinner tonight, so I decided to deal with my chipped nail polish. I was carrying the pot of nail polish remover pads around in my pocket, but they must have fallen out as I pottered around.

I left DS (2.3) for a couple of minutes in the sitting room, and when I came back he was wiping his tongue and looking disgusted. There on the floor was my pot of nail polish remover pads. I smelled his mouth, and he had obviously sucked one (or more) of the pads

So I washed his mouth out and phoned NHS24. While waiting for the call back I found this article. The nail polish remover pads in question are exactly the same as mine!!

Luckily DS is fine (we've just come back from several hours at A&E) but OMG I had no idea they were so dangerous!

The doctor said that pads are safer than liquid, but that non-acetone stuff is highly toxic. So I said "Right, so what I need is the pads of regular acetone-based remover."

She looked at me like this and said, "No what you need is to keep them out of the reach of DS"

how scary for you!

but had to laugh at the last bit.
glad ds is ok

good grief, i had no idea they were so dangerous
glad your ds is fine
what a worry for you

Thanks tiy

cheeky cow! re last statement i mean...

It's ok, she said it with a bit of a smile...she was v nice

Shocked at how toxic these pads are.God mine are knocking around somewhere, feel all hot and stressed now, going to look rapido

seriously, they are that toxic???

Found them, they have Butyrolactone in. They also have NO warning apart from telling you to keep them off polished surfaces The make is 'Patons' a red pot.

I know! I honestly thought I'd gone for the "safest" option with acetone-free pads.

The doc did say that the toxicity has a v short "half-life" though. If there's no reaction in the first 15-30 minutes then the chances are that you've got away with it, and that it's totally out of the system within about an hour.

That said, DS has an upset tummy today, which is v unlike him. I wonder if it could be an after-effect?

Why was the doctor being a "cheeky cow" for telling the truth??

I do think there should be better labelling though.

Doctor was doing her job and trying to help so doesn't warrant being called a cheeky cow.

You must have been in utter panic when you found that article.

Hells Bells!! Will remove and destroy all such things from house immediately.

Another good reason to have regular manicures and pedicures, the chemicals involved simply too dangerous to have in house!

Am very pleased ds O.K. and very please you went ahead and acted on it. Could be forgiven for giving him and drink and seeing how he went.

I mean because now we all know of the risk.

My dd once ate the gel stuff that stops flowers drying out. Awful. She was fine but I needed drying out after I had 4 pints to deal with stress fall out!

Treedelivery - ooh is that stuff v dangerous?

According to a completeley non-plussed NHS direct it is inert and therefore harmless.

The poisons unit also got back to us the same day and said it was something they had never heard of never mind could comment on!!

But the actual flower cell with the soil and the gel had 'do not eat or inbibe' all over it.

Followed the poisons unit advice to give normal food and water and observe. Was very slightly hysterical for rest of the day but we all lived to tell tale.

Still no clue what that stuff is or what it can do to you.