A four-year-old girl in Australia has burnt a hole on her tongue after eating sour sweet sweets. Willow Wright described feeling as though her skin was coming off, after she had her brother’s Warhead candy.
Discover our latest podcast
Extremely Sour
Willow sneaked into the cupboard to raid her brother’s candy cache while her mum Kirsty was downstairs. She devoured 10 of the sweets, which are marketed as being ‘extremely sour’. Shortly after treating herself to the candy, Willow had a burning reaction in her mouth.
Worried, Kirsty called her doctor but was told there was little that could be done at the moment except to wait it out as the reaction should go away in a few days.
Kirsty shared pictures of her daughter’s blistered tongue to warn others. She told 9 News:
I was really worried because I had never seen this before.
Dentists have warned that the high levels of acidity in some sour sweets can be very dangerous for young children.
May Cause Temporary Irritation
Warheads, the brand of sour sweets that Willow had, are sold in the US and Australia but not the UK. It contains four different types of acid, making it not ideal to be eaten in large quantities.
On its packaging is a warning that children under four years should not have them. There is also a caution against eating multiple pieces in a short period as it ‘may cause a temporary irritation.’
Jonathan Teoh, of the Australian Dental Association, told the TV channel:
Products with this level of acid or PH can cause chemical burns to the cheeks and the tongue. We do see a lot of trauma and a lot of damage that can be done to teeth and to gums from sour lollies.
