Magic Eraser warning!

[PianoMama]

I received this in an e-mail from a friend today:

Anyone with Children or Grandchildren, Please Read

Ok, I'm forwarding this to everyone so they don't make the same mistake. These burns were caused by a Magic Eraser sponge. The mom in this case let her kids erase their crayon marks off the walls and never even thought the sponges would have this kind of chemical in them that would cause this kind of burn or even hurt them. Learn from her mistake. Pass this along to anyone who has kids or grandchildren.

The photo is of Kolby - 24 hours after being burned by a Magic Eraser sponge. It was much worse the day before.

Here is the email we received -

One of my five year old's favorite chores around the house is cleaning scuff marks off the walls, doors, and baseboards with either an Easy Eraser pad, or the real deal, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I remember reading the box, wondering what the "Magic" component was that cleaned crayon off my walls with ease. No ingredients were listed and absolutely no warnings were on the box, other than "Do not ingest." My package of the Scotchbrite Easy Erasers didn't have a warning either; and since my child knew not to eat the sponges and keep them out of reach of his little brother and sister, it was a chore I happily let him do.

If I had known that both brands (and others like them) contain a harmful alkaline or "base" chemical (opposite of acid on the pH scale) that can burn your skin, I never would have let my little boy handle them. As you can see from the picture, when the Scotchbrite Easy Eraser was rubbed against his face and chin, he received severe chemical burns.

At first, I thought he was being dramatic. I picked him up, put him on the counter top and washed his face with soap and water. He was screaming in pain. I put some lotion on his face - more agony. I had used a Magic Eraser to remove ma gic marker from my own knuckles a while back and I couldn't understand why he was suddenly in pain. Then, almost immediately, the large, shiny, blistering red marks started to spread across his cheeks and chin.

I quickly searched Google.com for "Magic Eraser Burn" and turned up several results. I was shocked. These completely innocent looking white foam sponges can burn you?

I called our pediatrician, and of course got sent to voice mail. I hung up and called the hospital and spoke to an emergency room nurse. She told me to call Poison Control. The woman at Poison Control said she was surprised nobody had sued these companies yet and walked me through the process of neutralizing the alkaline to stop my son's face from continually burning more every second..

I had already, during my frantic phone calling, tried patting some numbing antibiotic cream on his cheeks, and later some Aloe Vera gel - both resulted in screams of pain. The Poison Control tech had me fill a bathtub with warm water, lay my son into it, cover him with a towel to keep him warm and then use a soft washcloth to rinse his face and chin with cool water for a continuous 20 minutes. My son calmed down immediately. He told me how good it felt. I gave him a dose of Tylenol and after the twenty minutes was up, he got dressed in his Emergency Room doctor Halloween costume and off we went to the hospital. They needed to make sure the chemical burn had stopped burning, and examine his face to determine if the burn would need to be debri ded (from my fuzzy recollection of hospital work, this means removing loose tissue from a burn location). My son was pretty happy at the hospital, they were very nice and called him "Doctor" and let him examine some of their equipment. The water had successfully stopped the burning and helped soothe a lot of the pain I'm sure Tylenol was helping too.

They sent us home with more Aloe Vera gel, Polysporin antibiotic cream, and some other numbing creams. By the time we got home, my son was crying again. I tried applying some of the creams but he cried out in pain. Water seemed to be what worked the best.

After a rough night, I took the above photo in the morning. He was swollen and wouldn't move his lips very much. The skin on his cheeks was taut.

Today he is doing much better. The burns have started to scab over, and in place of red, raw, angry, skin we have a deeper red, rough healing layer. I can touch his skin now, without it stinging.

If you are a parent or grandparent, this post is meant to save your loved ones from the horror these parents went through. Please share it with other parents, grandparents, babysitters, aunts and uncles ~ anyone you know who spends time with kids.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked this up on Snopes for more info:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp

[ChelleFish]

Accrding to Snopes, and the link you posted, this is FALSE.

[momofweewerfs]

i have heard of other children being burned by the magic eraser.

a little boy at the church where my brother is a pastor, was burned quite badly from it, it actually left scars. we still have one at home and it is kept with the cleaning supplies locked up from the kids. only my hubby and i use it.

[JRBL]

well it says it's not being taken off shelves but that it *could* be harmful if used on the skin... umm... hello? That's like saying, "Don't put bleach on your skin". We all know that. ::snort:: I noticed, too, that it didn't list ingredients, and since it "dawned on me" that I didn't know what was in it, I have been wearing gloves while using it. I did notice my hands would get dry after using it... kinda like when I use bleach with bare hands... so... ::shrugs:: Use with Care... just like everything else, right? :)

[4Angelz]

Okay... maybe it's just the chemist in me, but I thought that it was widely known not to expose your skin to any household cleaners. I'd really be kicking myself if I ever let my kids even touch the bottle of one with my permission. I don't know about this particular report, but I must say... please, please, please wear gloves when using any household cleaner and never let your kids handle them. People tend forget that you are using serious chemicals when you purchase and use household cleaners. Truthfully, they all have the potential to harm. I've gotten chemical burns myself from various househole cleaners. Recently, I didn't feel like wearing my cleaning gloves and so I used my Clorox Bathroom Cleaner bare-handed and paid the price. Just a small burn, but a burn all the same.

[~Tara~]

Uh, yeah...
the Magic Eraser is one of those things for me...
Hello? We have NO idea what is in this thing. It seems to work miracles, but we don't know WHAT it is...
And you want to wet this mysterious squishy thing so that it releases and activates this mystery miracle fluid/chemical and let it touch your skin? Hello?

I always use gloves with mine. As said above...with all household cleaners.
Dry hands, cuts on hands and cleaners entering them, smelling like the cleaners or truly toxic chemicals...no matter...I wear gloves.

[Ashlee]

But what about the surface you use it on? Won't some of the toxic stuff be left behind? Or do ya'll rinse it like you would with bleach or something?

[NZMummy]

I love these too for all those marks that will not come off with anything else.

These are often advertised as having no chemicals in them. I think that they work because the cube is a bit like a very, very fine sandpaper. Of course, sandpaper would hurt too if you rubbed it on your skin. I always use gloves because I have really sensitive skin. And I definately keep them out of reach of children (as it advises on the packet).

However, I would definately rinse after cleaning with the cube. I have read a story where a cats bowl was cleaned with a magic eraser and the cat's digestive system was badly irritated as a result due to the abrasive particles left in the bowl.

[~Tara~]

that's true...it is very much like a fine grade of sandpaper, I hadn't thought about that
that could partly account for the loss of gloss on some surfaces

but I still think there's something 'more' hmm

and yes, rinse..I often forget to simply because I use it only in small places ie. to remove a quarter size spot of marker from the school table..but rinsing I think would be a good idea

so, don't rub your arm or face with it ( :p ), don't let your kid mess with it, don't let your dog chew it, wear gloves when using and rinse afterward :)

whether the story is real or not, I think those are common sense precautions that should be taken