Shopping for little girls is so fun; there are so many cute items that are nostalgic for mothers.
We buy these things without thinking, getting caught up in the moment, never thinking that a company would put a dangerous piece of apparel on the market.
One mom got the wake up call of her life when her daughter was put in the hospital from a seemingly harmless fashionable shoe.
Felicia Marie Hillman of Houston, Texas went shopping for spring sandals for her daughter, Rosie, she landed on the popular jelly sandal from Walmart, according to Yahoo News.
The jelly sandal became popular in 80’s and 90’s, and has since become popular once again; filling the shelves all over the nation.
Now, the mother wants everyone to know that not all shoes are safe for your children.
Hillman posted to Facebook photos of Rosie’s feet with severe blisters and burns after sporting the popular footwear to school one day.
That’s right! Only one day of wear created this debilitating problem in an innocent little girl!
Yahoo News reports on Hillman’s words of warning in her Facebook post that is now unable to be seen:
“A few weeks ago I bought Rosie those jelly sandals from Walmart and this is what we have been dealing with since then. After one day in them she came home from daycare with blisters. ONLY ONE DAY SHE WAS IN THEM. The last picture is today after we spent last night in the emergency room. We have spent other nights in urgent care and the ER.”
Who would have thought that your daughter’s shoes could put them in the hospital?
How did this happen?
The sandals are made from PVC plastic, and come in many colors that allure children. As they get warm, up in the increasing higher temperatures, it causes the feet to sweat.
When the sweaty foot rubs back and forth on the PVC plastic, it can cause blisters, and if they aren’t taken off at this point burns can quickly form.
You would think because they have open areas in the sandal that airflow would keep the foot cool, but the plastics don’t allow the skin to breathe where contact is made.
Little Rosie had to suffer for an extended period of time, with several treatments applied before she found relief from the burns the shoes had made on her feet.
Hillman added to her post:
“After countless antibiotics and creams finally we have some relief. Thank god this steroid cream is working. My poor Rosie girl has been a trooper. From blisters to horrific skin peeling and bleeding – thank god no infections have ever come into play.”
Hillman’s post reached thousands of mothers, with more than 120,000 shares on Facebook.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the jelly shoe has had negative publicity.
In 2017, a heartbroken grandmother, Kelly Pruitt, in Maryville, Tennessee posted to Facebook that her 10-month old granddaughter had a blood test that revealed high levels of lead.
The culprit? None other than the infamous jelly shoe.
Pruitt told in her post how even the healthcare professionals warned her not to let her grand-daughter wear jelly shoes “as there have been similar reports that they contained unsafe levels of lead.”
Pruitt’s frightening post has had over a million shares already, bringing attention to the danger of the jelly shoe.
The World Health Organization reports on the ghastly effects lead has on children:
“At high levels of exposure, lead attacks the brain and central nervous system to cause coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with mental retardation and behavioural disorders.”
Risks this severe should not be left to chance. Any fashion statement should not inflict bodily harm to someone.
These kinds of claims never go unrefuted, and many professionals have stood up in defense of the sandal.
I’m sure corporate influence has had bearing on these professional claims, choosing a biased study over the welfare of our children.
Walmart, who was attacked directly in Hillman’s post wrote in defense of their product:
“Walmart takes product safety seriously. all products in question were tested before being placed on our shelves, and we initiated over 200 additional tests in the past month to further confirm the safety of the shoes,” the 2017 statement read. “All tests once again have shown these shoes are safe and meet applicable standards.”
Over the years it has become abundantly clear that consumers have to be their own watchdogs, as Mommy Underground has previously reported.
Stay vigilant in checking the safety of materials that are put on children, and the long-term effects such exposure may have.
Just because something is deemed safe by one test does not mean that it will not bring you and your family heartache in the future.
Please let us know in the comments section if you have had an adverse reaction in your child to a product.