CBS News: Mom speaks out on dangers of water beads, urges ban after daughter's injury: "It breaks my heart"

By Sara Moniuszko, Danya Bacchus

Water beads may look harmless and fun, but the authors of a new report — including a mom whose daughter was seriously injured by them — are calling for a ban on their sale.

When Ashley Haugen's daughter Kipley was a toddler, she developed a rash and was throwing up. Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. It turned out she had ingested the small, water-absorbing beads her older sister was playing with. The beads can expand to 100 times their size when exposed to water. 

"During surgery, they found the water beads had caused a blockage inside of her small intestine," Haugen told CBS News. "Because the water beads were marketed as non-toxic eco-friendly and biodegradable, everybody thought that she would be fine."

But in the weeks that followed, Kipley began having trouble with coordination and responding to commands. Doctors confirmed she was experiencing developmental delays, leading to a diagnosis of toxic brain encephalopathy.

Kipley's case has recently been published in the journal Pediatrics. Haugen is one of the first parent advocates to co-author a case report in the journal. The authors are also calling for warning labels about the risks of ingestion on all products containing water beads.

"Water beads are made of poly acrylamide and acrylamide is a known neurotoxin. Our consumer products and the chemicals used to make them are not well regulated," Dr. Elizabeth Friedman, the Medical Director for Environmental Health at Children's Mercy Kansas City, told CBS News. 

See the full story via CBS News