Ottawa mom warns parents about exploding squeeze toy

An Ottawa mother is warning other parents about a squeeze toy she purchased from a popular arts and crafts chain after the product burst in her daughter's face, sending the young girl to hospital.

Erica Doucette said she bought the $5 squeezable candy corn from a Michaels store on InnesRoad a few days before Halloween. She said she'd only had the toy home for about two hours when it burst in the face of her eight-year-old daughter,Annika,shooting white gel into the girl's eyes.

She wasn't doing anything [wrong]. You're supposed to squeeze it.- Erica Doucette

"Annika was screaming and my husband got a shirt or a towel and got what he could off her eyes," Doucettesaid."It covered her face, got on the wall behind [her]. Wegot her up to the shower, rinsed her eyes out as much as we could."

Not knowing what was in the gel, Doucette feared the worst.

"I was terrified for [her] vision.I mean, we're dealing with her eyes," the mother of three said.

'I was terrified'

6 years ago

Duration 0:31

An Ottawa mother describes the moment a squeeze toy burst open, shooting an unknown gel into her 8-year-old daughter's eyes.

Rushed to CHEO

Doucettecalled the Ontario Poison Centre, but because there was no list of ingredients attached to the toy, she was advised to rush her daughter to CHEO.

Doctors there didn't want to treat the girl's eyes with bacterial drops or antibiotics because they didn't know what kind of substance they were dealing with.

By that time, the inflammation was causing her daughter discomfort and making it difficult for her to close one eye,Doucettesaid.

"That's what was so frustrating,"she said."When you see your kid in pain and you just want the treatment, but they were worried that if they treated her and it reacted it could affect her vision long-term, permanently."

Made in China

After again flushing thegirl's eyes, doctorssent the family home.Annika's condition didn't improve, however, so the family returned to CHEOtwo days later.

During their second visit, an ophthalmologistdiagnosed and treated Annikafor edema, or swelling, in her left eye. The doctor told Doucetteit was likely caused by the force of the gelhitting the girl's eye, not by the substance itself.

Between visits to CHEO,Doucettereturned to the Michaels store where she'd purchased the item, which was made in China and distributed by a company called Creatology. She said a manager at the store assured her the remaining Halloween-themed toys would be removed from the shelves.

Similar toy pops up

Doucettehas since discovered that a similar product distributedby the same companythis time in the shape of a penguin popped up on shelves at Michaelsearlier this month.

Even though she's been assured the gel isn't toxic, Doucettedecided toposta warning to parents on Facebook about the toys.

"All I can think of is, what if a kid gets it for a Christmas stocking stuffer and injures themselves and ends up in CHEO at holiday season?" Doucettesaid.

She said when it happened to her daughter, the girl was playing with the toy the way kids are supposed to.

"She had itfully squeezed when it burst, but it also says 'monster squeeze toy' [on the saletag], so she wasn't doing anything [wrong]. You're supposed to squeeze it."

Gel isn't toxic, Michaelssays

In a statement to CBC,Michaels said it regrets the incident, and said thesafety of its customers is the company's highest priority.

"We test our products to make sure they meet applicable quality and safety standards," the retailer said."The toy in question was tested and passed required safety standards, and the gel in the toy is not toxic or hazardous."

Michaels sent Doucette a list of ingredients in the candy corn squeeze toy to demonstrate the gel inside is not toxic, as well as contact information for the toy's manufacturer in China.

Safety shortfalls

The head of the Consumers Council of Canada said it's important for peopleto report such problems to Health Canada.

• Choking hazards, chemical contamination top reasons for toy recalls
• Cosmetics and household products need more safety oversight, watchdog says

"It's very difficult for a law or regulators to anticipate everything that someone might do with certain materials and what the outcomes could be," said Ken Whitehurst, the council's executive director.

"Generally speaking, there's not an ongoing program of sampling all products to determine whether they're safe."

Doucettesaid she plans report her experience to Health Canada. In the meantime, shewants the retailer to either take similar products offitsshelves, or attach a list of ingredients.

Meanwhile,Annika is waiting to see another ophthalmologistbecause Doucette said her daughter is stillexperiencing sensitivity to light.