Aqua Dots Recall

On November 7, 2007, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Aqua Dots. The announcement was made in cooperation with Spin Master of Toronto, Canada, the distributor of Aqua Dots. The kits were manufactured in China, and approximately 4.2 million units were sold between April 2007 and November 2007. Parents were instructed to immediately take any Aqua Dot kits away from their children.

The Aqua Dot beads should contain non-toxic glue but instead they were made with GBL. GBL, which stands for Gamma Butyrolactone, is a degreasing solvent or floor stripper. When GBL is ingested, it is then converted into GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate or Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid) within the body. GHB is better known as the “date-rape drug”. This chemical conversion has led to two children in the United States falling into comas after ingesting Aqua Dots.

Physical findings after GHB ingestion include; neurological, cardiac, pulmonary and gastrointestinal complications. Nausea and vomiting are common with GHB ingestions. Neurological findings include agitated delirium that progress to a stupor or a coma. Seizure like movements and myoclonus are common during intoxication. In 30-35% of the GHB poisonings, bradycardia (heart rate drop) occurs after ingestion. In more severe ingestions, respiratory depression can occur.

The effect of GHB occurs within 10-20 minutes but does not peak for almost an hour. The initial symptoms make the victim appear as if they are intoxicated followed by drowsiness. If the drug is ingested in a high amount, the drowsiness will then progress to a coma. Some reports note that effects last for 4-24 hours; however, both cases in which children went into a coma occurred over a number of days. GHB can be fatal, typically from the respiratory depression discussed earlier. Long term effects of GHB poisoning are not completely understood at this point.

References:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Spin Master Recalls Aqua Dots – Children Became Unconscious After Swallowing Beads. Retrieved November 2007 from www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml108/08074.html

Benzer, Theodore I., Toxicity, Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate. Retrieved November 2007 from www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic848.htm.

American Council for Drug Education’s. Basic Facts About Drugs: GHB and Rohypnol. Retrieved from www.acde.org/common/ghb-rohypnol.htm.