Doctors have told the parents of an Australian toddler placed in a week-long induced coma after accidentally inhaling a toxic cake decorating product that their son might have lifelong health issues and long-term lung damage, despite his condition improving, reports the Brisbane Times.
Fourteen-month-old Dustin Wildman was in the studio with his mother, baker Katie Robinson, when he discovered a canister of metallic rose gold lustre dust, a product used to add a shimmering finish to baked goods.
Within seconds, the curious toddler had “bitten the top off (the canister)” and ingested some of the powder, causing him to start coughing and become immediately distressed.
“He became unresponsive and his eyes were rolling in his head … he couldn’t breathe properly,” Robinson said.
Paramedics took him to Queensland Children’s Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery to clear the copper – which had coated his airways and lungs – before placing him in an induced coma.
Robinson said her son “is doing better” a week on from the incident and is being weaned off breathing support and medications.
“He has had his breathing tube removed and has high flow oxygen through nasal prongs,” she said. “He’s had withdrawals overnight from decreasing the meds, but is doing better … (and) is coming out of the coma slowly.”
Despite making progress, the young family have been warned of possible “lifelong issues” from exposure to the powder, which was not meant for consumption.
“The doctors are unsure how his lungs will be long term – there will most likely be lifelong effects unfortunately,” Robinson said.
“They have said he will most likely need some asthma type therapy later, but he may have lifelong issues with his lungs – colds and flu will affect him worse than other children and he will need an inhaler.”
Robinson said that at the hospital, they had handed the gold dust container to doctors, who were unable to find any information on the product’s contents based on the label or in an online search.
It was only after the product was sent for further testing that they discovered it contained copper and zinc.
“I just can’t believe that these products are being sold alongside similar products that are edible,” Robinson said.
According to the most recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there were more than 10 000 hospitalisations due to accidental poisoning in 2023-24, the highest in children aged under four.
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