A mother has shared heartbreaking snaps of her baby boy wrapped in bandages after she claims a dehumidifier spill left the tot’s whole body covered in chemical burns.
When Jessica Stoker, 20, woke up to the sound of her 16-month-old son Logan Martin crying, she rushed in to see if he was okay.
The first-time mum who lives in North Yorkshire discovered her baby and all his bedding doused with a ‘greasy’ substance and the dehumidifier that usually sits on the 4ft-high windowsill in Logan’s cot.
Jessica Stoker went to check on her 16-month-old son Logan and found him suffering with chemical burns, which she believes are from a dehumidifier that poured onto him after he pulled it into his cot
The mother-of-one and her partner Nick Martin, 24, were advised to rush their little boy to A&E where he was treated for severe chemical burns and had to be wrapped in bandages
Jessica believes that Logan must have reached up from his cot in the night and pulled at the Kingfisher Homeware Compact Dehumidifier, pouring the liquid inside over himself.
The care worker claims she hadn’t been aware that dehumidifiers contained anything other than water but seeing her poor boy’s skin knew something wasn’t right and called 111.
Jessica and her partner Nick Martin, 24, were advised to rush their little boy to A&E where he was treated for severe chemical burns and had to be wrapped in bandages.
The 20-year-old discovered her baby and all his bedding doused with a ‘greasy’ substance and the dehumidifier that usually sits on the 4ft-high windowsill in Logan’s cot
Logan Martin, 16 months, sat on his dad’s knee while waiting to see a doctor after the his mother found him crying in his cot
Despite the distress caused, Jessica is now determined to share what happened to Logan as every other mum she has spoken to hasn’t realised the danger dehumidifiers pose.
Jessica, of North Yorkshire, said: ‘I heard Logan crying and went in to see if he was okay. At first I thought he might just be having a whinge because he’s always a bit groggy when he wakes up but he was really wet.
‘I thought maybe his nappy had leaked but when I picked him up my hands were getting itchy. He was soaked with this greasy, oily liquid.
‘I quickly started taking his clothes off and when I saw his skin was like ‘oh my god’. He was completely red raw all over. He looked like he’d been burnt – like a really, really bad sunburn.
‘Then I saw the dehumidifier in his bed. The only thing I can think happen is that he managed to pull it down off the windowsill overnight.
The Kingfisher Homeware Compact Dehumidifier after the contents spilled over 16-month-old Logan Martin
The North Yorkshire mother said: ‘I quickly started taking his clothes off and when I saw his skin was like ‘oh my god’. He was completely red raw all over. He looked like he’d been burnt – like a really, really bad sunburn’
Logan with his parents Nick Martin, 24, and Jessica Stoker, 20. Jessica said: ‘I felt horrible, I felt so guilty for keeping it in his room and I didn’t know how much pain he was in or if it was going to scar’
‘I put Logan in a bath to try to calm his skin down and I called 111. At first they said it might be an allergic reaction because there’s only water in dehumidifiers which is what I thought.
‘But then they called me back and told us to come to A&E. One of the nurses had found some information about there being chemicals in dehumidifiers.
‘Nick rushed back from work and took us to the hospital where they rushed us straight through. The doctor told us Logan had chemical burns.
‘It was awful, he had burns over 80 per cent of his body. I felt horrible, I felt so guilty for keeping it in his room and I didn’t know how much pain he was in or if it was going to scar.
Logan’s mother placed the dehumidifier on his windowsill so it would be close to where she had noticed damp starting to form and where she believed it to be safely out of Logan’s reach
‘The covered him in this special burn cream usually used for boiling water burns and then wrapped him in bandages. It was horrible seeing him like that.
‘All he wanted to do was take the bandages off and we had to force him to keep them on. It’s your worst nightmare as a mum seeing your little one in pain.’
Brave tot Logan was treated at James Cook hospital in Middlesborough, North Yorks, last week and has since seen a plastic surgeon who delivered the good news that his burns will not scar.
Jessica purchased the dehumidifier, which is a 5.9×3.3×3.9 inches plastic box with balls inside designed to absorb moisture from the air, at Yorkshire Trading in Malton, North Yorks, last year.
The mum-of-one placed the dehumidifier on Logan’s windowsill so it would be close to where she had noticed damp starting to form and where she believed it to be safely out of Logan’s reach.
Since her little boy’s accident, Jessica has spoken to many other mums who has similar dehumidifiers on windowsills in their homes and, like her, didn’t realise they contained chemicals.
‘He is such a happy little boy and he has been so brave, he’s just got on with it. He’s getting better now which is great’: Jessica says baby Logan is on the mend
Jessica wants to stop what happened to her son happening to any other tots and believes manufacturers of dehumidifiers need to place obvious warnings on the packaging.
Jessica said: ‘It was such a relief to hear that his burns won’t scar but the whole thing has been awful. His burns have all blistered and they look so sore.
‘But he is such a happy little boy and he has been so brave, he’s just got on with it. He’s getting better now which is great.
‘When I bought the dehumidifier the first thing I did was throw away the packaging as everyone would.
‘Everything says to keep it out of reach of children and I thought putting it on the windowsill was safe. It was up there for almost a year without Logan ever touching it.
‘At first I didn’t want to share what happened to Logan because I was scared of being judged’: Jessica believes companies need to warn people more about what the chemicals are in their products
‘But I didn’t see anything on the dehumidifier about it containing chemicals and I’ve not been able to find anything online. It’s quite scary not knowing what was in there.
‘I got in touch with Yorkshire Trading and they were so good, bless them. They took photos of all their dehumidifiers to try to help me track down the manufacturers but I didn’t have any luck.
‘It has cost me a fortune as well. The oily liquid soaked all of Logan’s bedding and no matter how many times I washed it I could still feel it on there.
‘I just couldn’t risk his poor skin coming into contact with it again so I’ve had to get a new cot, new mattress and new duvet. It’s worrying that whatever it was was so strong it couldn’t be washed out.
‘The worst thing is, I have spoken to so many mums since who have told me they have the same type of dehumidifiers in their kids’ bedrooms and nurseries as well.
‘At first I didn’t want to share what happened to Logan because I was scared of being judged but Nick and I decided it is too important not to speak about it.
‘The companies really need to put bigger warnings on the packaging and be clear about what chemicals are in there. I don’t want what happened to Logan happening to anyone else.’
Yorkshire Trading declined to comment.
Bonnington Plastics Limited, the supplier, have been contacted for comment .