Baby oil is something that a lot of people have in their home. There are a lot of uses for it (even if you don't have a baby) and it has managed to become a staple across the country.
However, just because this oil is used by millions of people, it doesn't mean that it's going to be safe 100% of the time.
One mother learned this the hard way when her 18-month-old son accidentally drank a little bit of the product. She shared her story on Facebook to help warn other moms of just how dangerous this product actually is.
Jenna Joy Ingraham posted the story, explaining what happened after Grayson grabbed the bottle and took a quick sip before she could catch him and stop him.
"Casey [her husband] caught him quickly and took it away. Gray made funny 'yucky' faces because of how it tasted and we thought that was the worst that happened."
But things quickly escalated and the Ingraham family realized they needed to take action.
"A couple minutes later, he started acting lethargic. Falling asleep sitting up and not answering anyone. Basically awake but non responsive with the slowest blinks I've ever seen. When we picked him up, it was just dead weight and he kept trying to fall asleep in our arms. We called the on call nurse only because of how he was acting. Had he not acted any differently, we wouldn't have thought anything of him drinking a little baby oil"
The nurse immediately recognized the symptoms and helped the parents realize that it was a serious situation.
"The nurse directed us to call Poison Control which started my panic. Poison Control asked some questions about his behavior along with his coughing and told us to take him to the ER now in case he aspirated any of it and it got in his lungs. They mentioned most parents don't realize how dangerous baby oil can be if inhaled. Poison Control told us they would call the hospital to let them know what was coming and that we needed to take him now. Cue my intense panic. Casey took Gray and I stayed home with Bry [their other child]."
Jenna Joy then revealed that the doctor compared baby oil to gasoline.
"The doctor told Case they needed to stay there until around 3 since that is when symptoms would start if anything major was wrong. If so, they wanted him to go to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital for the night. They did X-rays on his little lungs and told Case it's the equivalent to you or I drinking gasoline."
She admitted that she had never heard that it was so dangerous and was horrified by her "careless mistake."
"How did I not know that?! How has no one I have told so far known anything about how dangerous baby oil can be?! Of course we should not have had it on the counter where he could crawl up and grab it. Absolutely my careless mistake. And a big one. After researching, I have learned it is a hydrocarbon and falls in the same categories as lighter fluid and motor oil."
Luckily, four hours after Grayson was brought to the hospital, he was returned home with no signs of further complications, but his family was instructed to keep a close eye on him, and to carefully monitor his breathing over the next 24 hours.
While she's obviously relieved that her son's sneaky sip hasn't cost him his life, she knows that this is something that people need to be made aware of.
"We are just shocked this isn't something many parents know about and feel like more people should know about how dangerous an old nursery staple could be."
Did you realize how dangerous baby oil was? While it's a useful tool, it should always be kept out of reach of children because even the smallest sip could lead to enormous complications and even death.
For more information on ingested toxins, Poison Control's website can help you learn more.
Baby oil is definitely one of the most useful tools you should have around your house, make sure you remember that just because it says "baby" on it, it's still a dangerous chemical.
Source- Facebook - JennaJoy Ingraham / Poison Control