Water Beads Mistaken for Sprinkles Leading to Hospitalizations

KFBK - There is a product that helps the life of your plants, but it can be very dangerous to people who eat them. When dry, water beads look very similar to edible sprinkles. However, once they absorb water they expand 100 to 1,000 times their original size.

Darlene Rodrigo is a mother of two and says this happened to her family when a relative mistakenly added them to cupcakes. 'We called the California Poison Control Center and that's when they told us - in California alone - this has happened multiple times,' Rodrigo says. Darlene says days after eating them, her daughter and son both began throwing up and had to be treated at the hospital. 

Lee Cantrell with the San Diego Division of Poison Control says some cases can get so bad, surgery is the only option. 'If it becomes an issue where they can't pass them and they have problems with their bowel system - that would be a surgical emergency,' Cantrell says.

Darlene's children did not need to resort to surgery, but says people need to be careful if these products are in their home because the packaging is similar to the ones edible sprinkles come in and also the warning label that the product comes in is much too small.

Water Beads Danger - W2 - by JamesRojas