A 10-year-old watched a YouTube ‘hack’ claiming nail polish remover worked like eye drops, then her mom smelled something upstairs

A 10-year-old girl recently suffered chemical burns after attempting a dangerous social media hack that involved putting nail polish remover in her eyes. The incident, which occurred in Caerphilly, Wales, serves as a terrifying reminder of how easily children can be influenced by misleading content found online. Her mother, Rebecca Soal, discovered what happened only after noticing the distinct scent of the solvent while heading upstairs.

As reported by LADbible, Rebecca described the realization as a frightening moment. She found her daughter, Phoebe, with red eyes and lips after the child had wiped the chemical on her mouth and placed drops directly into her eyes. 

It turns out Phoebe had been watching content that falsely claimed the solvent was a suitable alternative to eye drops. Rebecca noted that while some creators might use water in these videos to joke around for likes, children often take these dangerous suggestions literally.

She also reportedly got a chemical burn on her lips

The mother rushed Phoebe to the hospital, where medical staff had to flush each eye with a litre of saline water to remove the chemicals. While the product was fortunately acetone-free, the family is still waiting for a specialist appointment to determine if there will be any long-term effects on her vision. 

Phoebe also reportedly sustained a chemical burn on her lips, which the family is currently treating with Vaseline to prevent cracking. Doctors told the family that the child was very lucky to avoid more severe permanent damage.

This situation has led Rebecca to implement a strict ban on social media use for all her children. She now reportedly supports the upcoming government plan to restrict access to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok for anyone under the age of 16. 

The government announced this policy back in June, hoping it will encourage a cultural shift that allows children more time to grow up offline. Rebecca expressed that she cannot wait for the ban to take effect because she no longer feels it is safe for children to navigate these spaces.

Rebecca emphasized that parents need to be much more vigilant with their children, even if they trust them. She asked, “I know you trust your children, but do you trust them enough not to be influenced?”