A harrowing incident involving a young girl and a laundry detergent pod has prompted her parents to issue an urgent warning to other families about the hidden dangers of these everyday household items.
Two-year-old **Luca de Groot** was helping her mother, **Jodi Lowe**, with laundry when the accident happened. While Jodi was momentarily distracted, Luca bit into a **Persil laundry pod**, causing it to burst and spray detergent into her face. In a panic, the toddler rubbed her eyes, unknowingly spreading the toxic substance and worsening the injury.
### **Emergency Response and Multiple Surgeries**
Hearing her daughter’s screams, Jodi rushed to help, immediately rinsing Luca’s face in the shower as directed on the detergent’s label. However, the damage was too severe for at-home treatment.
At the hospital, doctors repeatedly flushed Luca’s eyes but were unable to reverse the harm. She was rushed into **emergency surgery** and underwent **three procedures**, including an **amniotic membrane transplant** to repair her severely injured eye.
### **Long Road to Recovery**
Luca spent **16 days in the hospital** and still hasn’t fully regained vision in her left eye.
*"Her sight isn’t completely back yet, but it’s improving slowly,”* Jodi shared. *"She now has a slight vision impairment. Watching your child in so much pain and feeling helpless—it’s absolutely heartbreaking.”*
### **Parents Demand Stronger Warnings**
Jodi is now urging manufacturers, including **Persil (sold as Omo in Australia)**, to improve safety labels. She criticized current packaging for failing to highlight the **risk of severe injury** or the need for **immediate emergency care**.
*"The label says to ‘seek medical advice,’ but that’s not enough when a child could end up with chemical burns, multiple surgeries, and weeks in the hospital,”* she told *The Daily Mail*. *"I had no idea something so small could cause this much damage. There needs to be **clearer, stronger warnings**.”*
### **Company Response**
A **Unilever** spokesperson (Persil’s parent company) called the incident *"one accident too many”* and confirmed they have reached out to the family. While emphasizing that their products feature **child-resistant packaging**, they acknowledged the need for review and are considering **updating safety warnings** on Australian products.
### **A Warning to All Parents**
Jodi hopes her family’s ordeal will raise awareness and prevent similar tragedies. *"These pods are in so many homes—parents need to know just how dangerous they can be,”* she said.
**Experts advise:**
- **Store laundry pods out of reach** (preferably locked away).
- **Supervise children closely** around household chemicals.
- **Seek emergency care immediately** if exposure occurs—**don’t wait**.
This heartbreaking case serves as a critical reminder of the hidden hazards in everyday products—and the urgent need for better safety measures.
