Carlie Lawrence, 32, of Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, was sitting with her children making bracelets when her eldest son accidentally pinged a bangle into his seven-year-old brother Kyle's eye.
The incident caused a blood clot - leaving him completely blind in his left eye - and Kyle is now awaiting surgery in a bid to restore his eyesight.
Hospital treatment: Kyle Lawrence, of Cleethorpes, whose left eye was injured by a loom band bracelet
Youngsters have been caught up in the craze of making bracelets from the colourful elastic bands - made popular by the Duchess of Cambridge.
Kyle’s ordeal was revealed after Dr Anne-Marie Houlder, a senior GP in Stafford, urged
parents to be vigilant after a boy in Bristol fell asleep with the bands wrapped around his fingers.
That boy’s mother discovered his fingers were blue and removed the bands in time to restore his blood flow.
Now, mother-of-six Mrs Lawrence said: ‘I will never have them in the house again. I emailed the company about changing the labelling to warn people but they haven't got back to me.
‘There should be a warning on the packet - children shouldn't be doing the stretching. It's terrible that this has happened. I've had other parents come forward and say that something similar has happened, but not as bad.’
The incident happened as carer Mrs Lawrence sat with her children at their £100,000 semi-detached home making loom bands at the end of May.
Injuries: The incident caused a blood clot -
leaving Kyle completely blind in his left eye - and Kyle is now awaiting
surgery in a bid to restore his eyesight
They were making bands known as 'rainbow loom sandals' which feature a band around the ankle with a strap which hooks around a toe.
One of them needed stretching to fit but as her eldest son pulled it the band slipped from his fingers and shot into Kyle's eye.
‘I will never have them in the house again. It's terrible
that this has happened’
Carlie Lawrence, mother
Mrs Lawrence said: ‘He was screaming in pain and I have never heard him scream before. He started being violently sick.
‘I couldn't go near Kyle after it happened, my husband had to deal with it. I was so scared. My husband told me to call an ambulance and we had to take Kyle out of the room to try and calm him down.’
Kyle was rushed to accident and emergency, where he was examined before being sent home the same night with eye drops.
But after the schoolboy continued being sick throughout the night, Mrs Lawrence took him back to hospital the next day.
Popular: The bracelets have a growing following
among celebrities and sales rocketed after the Duchess of Cambridge was
seen wearing one
Kyle is currently back at school but is unable to take part in any outdoor activities and is now awaiting an operation at Sheffield Hospital to try and regain the sight in his left eye.
Dr Houlder had earlier said of the bands: ‘They could be a choking hazard or cause circulatory problems if children swallow or wrap them round their fingers for any length of time.
‘Parents need to be aware of the potential dangers if children are left unattended.’
Loom band bracelets - which are often swapped among friends on school playgrounds - are created using dozens of tiny, brightly coloured rubber rings that can be weaved together.
Although they were invented by an American engineer in 2011, loom bands really took off when a number of celebrities were spotted wearing the bracelets earlier this year.
Loom crazy: Pupils at one school, St Joseph's
and St Teresa's School in Wells, Somerset, have created an incredible
650ft-long chain containing 60,000 loom bands
The Duchess of Cambridge is just one well-known figure to sport a loom band.
She was spotted wearing a multi-coloured bracelet - given to her as a gift by a little girl - during a royal tour of New Zealand earlier this year.
'They
could be a choking hazard or cause circulatory problems if children
swallow or wrap them round their fingers for any length of time'
Dr Anne-Marie Houlder, GP
Dr Anne-Marie Houlder, GP
A few months after the Duchess was seen wearing the band, her parents Carole and Michael Middleton began selling a similar product through their mail-order company Party Pieces.
Since the Duchess of Cambridge was seen wearing one, sales of loom bands have rocketed by more than 300 per cent and they're now as much a fashion statement as they are a children's fad.
Other well-known figures seen wearing them include former footballer David Beckham, One Direction's Harry Styles, and television presenter Fearne Cotton.
Although loom bands have won the celebrity seal of approval, school children are the real driving force behind the brightly-coloured bracelets' popularity.
Craze: Loom bands can be shaped into different
objects, like this ball. One doctor warned parents that it was possible
for children to choke on the tiny bands
Banned: The tiny bands, which cannot be worn at a
growing number of schools, are woven together using small plastic looms
to make bracelets and other accessories, which are often swapped
between friends
Ask anyone with children and they are likely to confirm that Britain has gone loom band crazy in the past few months.
In fact pupils at one school, St Joseph’s and St Teresa’s School in Wells, Somerset, have created a 650ft-long chain containing 60,000 loom bands.
They are hoping to break the world record the longest loom band chain - although they still have some way to go to beat the 29,040ft chain created in California earlier this year.
But now head teachers are increasingly banning pupils from bringing the bands to school. There are reports they have been used as catapults in classrooms and led to playground disputes over copying designs.
Loom bands are just the latest craze to sweep Britain's playgrounds, following trends such as Tamagotchis, yo-yos, Furbys, pogs and Panini stickers.
No comments:
Post a Comment