After her 4-year-old daughter bit into a squishy detergent pod that exploded on her face, an Australian mother is warning other parents of the terrifying medical emergency that left her curious child temporarily blind.
On March 23, 4-year-old Luca de Groot was helping her mom around the house – something she’d done several times before.
While washing the clothes, Jodi handed the young girl a detergent capsule, deceptively inviting for children who mistake the pods for candy or toys.
“Luca was helping me with the laundry and I gave her the pod just to hold while I put the washing on,” Jodi told the Mirror of giving her daughter the colorful, squishy pod – marketed as Omo in Australia and Persil in the UK.
Irresistible pods
Within seconds, Jodi’s home was filled with screams of agony – Luca had put the pod into her mouth and bitten it, causing it to explode and spatter concentrated detergent all over her face.
“She’s never had the urge to bite before. It’s very out of character for her. She helps me with the laundry a lot but doesn’t normally play with them,” Jodi said.
This time, Luca couldn’t resist the spongy pod.
“By the time I’d turned around, she’d already bitten into it, and it went into her eyes,” explained the mom, who was still shaken by the memory of what happened. “They’re quite solid so when you pop them, they spray.”
‘Hysterical’
“Kids being kids she rubbed her eyes, which meant it went across both eyes,” Jodi said, explaining that Luca rubbed her face and spread the harsh chemicals into both eyes.
Immediately after the detergent made contact with her eyes, Luca was “hysterical.” Trying to ease her daughter’s pain with water, Jodi rushed her into the shower.
But the water wasn’t offering the child any relief.
“I put her into the shower and looked at the back of the product and it said to ‘seek medical advice’ so I didn’t think it was going to cause much of an issue. She was screaming and really upset. I noticed she wasn’t calming down, she was still hysterical. I called a poison line and asked for advice, and they told me to go to hospital.”
Three surgeries
At the hospital, doctors flushed her eyes – four times – but the chemical burns were too severe.
The Mirror reports that Luca underwent three surgeries, including an amniotic membrane transplant, a delicate procedure where tissue from the placenta is applied to the surface of the eye to promote healing.
“There was a point where [doctors] thought she’d need a fourth surgery because she wasn’t opening her eyes,” Jodi explained of Luca’s 16 days in hospital. “But we managed to encourage her to open her eyes. Her sight in her left eye isn’t fully there yet but is coming back slowly.”
Vision impairment
Still, the damage is lasting. “She has a slight vision impairment,” Jodi added. “It could’ve been a lot worse. It’s been pretty traumatic. It’s not easy seeing your daughter in so much pain with nothing you can do.”
After more than two harrowing weeks in the hospital, Luca was finally allowed to return home – but life hasn’t returned to normal.
Her eyes remain red and irritated, and doctors say the healing process could take up to a year. For now, she’s adjusting to life with a mild visual impairment, and frequent check-ups remain part of her routine.
Warnings ‘not good enough’
Now, Jodi is warning other parents about the danger of laundry pods and calling on detergent manufacturers to make their warnings more urgent and specific.
It’s “not good enough,” she said of the packaging that fails to offer visual indication of just how dangerous these pods can be.
And “they do look and smell quite nice. They’re attractive to kids,” she said of the brightly colored pods with squeezable shells.
“I know [Persil] says keep them away from the kids but on the packet, it doesn’t say anything about going to a hospital. It just says, ‘seek medical advice.’”
She adds, “It needs to be more. It’s not good enough how it is. I didn’t realise the extent of injuries they could cause. You wouldn’t think direct contact could cause pretty excessive burns, three surgeries and 16 days in hospital. There needs to be more awareness on their packaging.”
‘On-pack safety warnings’
In response, a Unilever spokesperson told The Mirror: “We were deeply saddened to hear about these injuries and have spoken to Luca’s mother to understand what happened so we can investigate further. Safety is always our number one priority at Unilever, and our laundry capsules carry child impeding closures as well as prominent on-pack safety warnings in line with industry guidelines.”
Luca’s story is a tragic reminder that even everyday household items can become life-altering hazards – especially for curious, trusting children.
Please share this story with others and help raise awareness about the danger of these pods. The more people who know, the safer our homes!
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