Bath time is a cherished part of the day for most kids, a time to splash, play, and have fun. But for one Illinois family, a seemingly harmless bath toy nearly cost their young son his sight in a terrifying ordeal that’s left them determined to warn other parents.
Eden Strong was giving her 2-year-old son Baylor a routine bath when she noticed his eye looked irritated. Thinking it was just from getting water in his eye, she didn’t think much of it. But within just 12 hours, Baylor’s condition had taken a severe turn for the worse.
“His eye was protruding from his face,” Eden recounted in a viral Facebook post. “It was very obscured. He was running a raging fever.”
Baylor was suffering from a potentially serious bacterial skin infection called cellulitis. The culprit? A common squeezable bath toy.
“I came to find out later that because the water is never fully expelled from those types of toys, they can just grow bacteria that you can’t stop,” Eden explained.
Those innocent-looking bath toys that kids love so much had become a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria – and it very nearly cost little Baylor his sight.
“They warned me that he may lose vision in the worse eye, but in the end, thank the Lord his eyes healed,” said Eden, who shared shocking photos of Baylor’s swollen, infected eye to warn other parents.
After the terrifying ordeal, Eden has thrown out all of Baylor’s squeezable bath toys. She hopes that by sharing their story, she can prompt manufacturers to re-evaluate the safety of these products and parents to think twice before letting their kids play with them.
“I think those toys especially are cute. They’re fun. They’re cheap and they’re easy, but it’s not worth it,” she said.
The Strongs’ harrowing experience is a sobering reminder that we can’t always trust that the items marketed for our children’s enjoyment are truly safe. As parents, it’s up to us to be vigilant and put safety first – even when it comes to the most everyday items.
So the next time you’re doing bath time with your little ones, take a close look at those beloved bath toys. It just might save their sight.
