An Australian family is urging parents to take extra precautions after a terrifying accident left their 4-year-old daughter temporarily blinded in one eye by a common household item: a laundry detergent pod.
Luca de Groot was helping her mother, Jodi Lowe, with the laundry when the incident occurred. While Jodi’s attention was momentarily diverted, Luca bit into a Persil (sold as Omo in Australia) washing pod. The pod burst, spraying detergent into her face. Screaming in pain, Luca instinctively tried to wipe it away—only making the situation worse by rubbing the substance into her eyes.
Jodi immediately rushed her daughter into the shower and flushed her eyes with water, following the warning label’s instructions. Despite this quick response, Luca’s condition deteriorated, and she was taken to the hospital.
Doctors attempted to flush her eyes four times but were unsuccessful. Luca was then taken into emergency surgery. Her condition ultimately required three separate procedures, including an amniotic membrane transplant to encourage healing. She spent 16 days in the hospital, and while her vision has been gradually improving, her sight in one eye has not fully returned.
“She has a slight vision impairment. It’s been pretty traumatic,” Jodi told the Daily Mail. “It’s not easy seeing your daughter in so much pain and being unable to do anything.”
Now, Jodi is speaking out to warn other parents. She believes the current warnings on Persil packaging are inadequate.
“[Persil] says to keep the pods away from children, but the label only says ‘seek medical advice.’ It doesn’t stress the urgency or the possible severity of the injuries,” she said. “I had no idea they could cause burns bad enough to require surgery and over two weeks in the hospital.”
Jodi is calling for clearer, stronger warnings on laundry pod packaging to help prevent similar accidents in the future.
A spokesperson for Unilever, which manufactures Persil, responded to the incident, stating: “One incident like this is one too many. Our products are not intended for use by children, and we include child safety closures and clear warnings on the front and back of the packaging.” The company added that they have reached out to the family and are reviewing safety messaging on their products distributed in Australia.
