Warning: This post contains graphic images.
A mum has issued a warning to other parents about the dangers of vacuum cleaners after her 16-month-old suffered fourth degree burns.
Jade Bishop, from Maidstone in Kent, said she wanted to share photos of the incident because people may not be aware how unsafe they can be for kids.
Bishop said her son likes to follow her around while she hoovers the house and he sometimes pushes the vacuum cleaner himself.
Explaining what happened, she wrote on Sunday 12 March: “I turn the vacuum off and turn my back to unplug it from the wall, I hear Theo turn it back on, hear him screaming, I yank the plug from the wall and he has managed to put his thumb in the bottom where the bristles spin at a crazy speed.
“I go to him quicker than I ever have to see he’s got a nasty-looking burn on his hand.”
Bishop said she immediately rushed her son to the minor injuries unit, thinking his thumb would be bandaged and that would be the end of it.
However they were referred to Bristol Children’s Hospital to see a burns specialist and plastic surgeon the next day.
Bishop’s son had a fourth degree burn. She said surgeons are now talking about the possibility of skin grafts as he may have restricted movement as he grows.
He is currently having his burn cleaned and redressed every three days and having an appointment with specialists weekly.
“This is all from no longer than five seconds of having his thumb in that hoover,” the mum wrote.
“Please, please, please do not let your children near the vacuum cleaners.
“After talking with my nurse and her telling me just how common this kind of burn is, it makes you realise that a) I’m not the world’s worst mum and b) we are not the first and we won’t be the last.”
Bishop encouraged parents to share the post and it had more than 8,000 shares in two days.
“Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention, I had no idea,” a grandmother commented.
“Please don’t blame yourself. I’m a granny with four small grandsons who won’t be playing with my hoover anymore.”
Another commented: “Thank you for posting this. We all think of the obvious dangers (hot coffee, irons, etc.) but I honestly never realised a hoover could cause such damage. Hope your little boy is on the road to recovery.”