An East Lothian schoolboy has been left blind in one eye after a dangerous playground craze went horribly wrong.
The young lad was taking part in the “deodorant bomb” stunt where a sharp object is plunged into an aerosol can to release the gas inside at Ross High School in Tranent, East Lothian, last Friday, January 6.
The can exploded in the victim’s face resulting in “gruesome” injuries and he was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where surgeons attempted to save the boy’s sight.
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The youngster’s mum took to social media to reveal that despite the work of “four of the best ophthalmology consultants, the vision in one of his eyes could not be saved”.
The devastated mother also posted a warning of the dangers of new playground “craze” and praised the bravery shown by her son who has been “absolutely amazing throughout his ordeal”.
She said: “I want to write this post, not for pity or 101 questions, but to raise awareness of something that kids have been doing for a while now but only came to my attention on Friday, when [my son] had a terrible accident.
“There is a ‘craze’ at the moment of making deodorant bombs, where kids are sticking sharp objects into deodorant cans and hitting them, hoping to release the gas and watch the can spin (or something to that effect).
“As kids, we have all done things that were risky and dangerous without a second thought at the consequences if anything went wrong.
“Unfortunately for us, it went wrong. [My son] and his friend were giving this a go and a deodorant can exploded.
“I won't go into the gruesome details of it just now, but I can assure you it wasn't pleasant to see.
“What was just a bit of fun quickly turned to tragedy and, even with four of the best ophthalmology consultants, the vision in one of his eyes could not be saved.
“He has been left permanently blind in one eye.
“This has been traumatic for him, and for us. I just feel, as a parent, I need to share this as I cannot watch another child or family go through what we have in the last few days.
“[My son] has been absolutely amazing throughout his ordeal and is honestly the strongest boy I know. I am so proud of him and his resilience.
“His life changed in a complete second and I genuinely do not want another child to find themselves in the same situation, or worse.
“So please, speak to your kids. Let them know the dangers. I always thought you only ever hear about these things and it would never happen to us, but here we are.”
Hundreds of stunned locals have also taken to social media to sympathise with the family and to share the warning of the new craze.
One said: “We've all done stupid things as kids. So unfortunate your wee lad has ended up seriously hurt. The odds of that happening are probably high too. Hope he recovers soon.”
Another posted: “I hate how there’s so much pressure for kids to try silly things and then they end up getting hurt, you know what it’s like, no matter what your mum says you try it anyway.”
While a third added: “If this post stops this craze then it's done its job. Please warn your kids, nobody should have to go through this.”
An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Everyone at Ross High’s thoughts are with the young person affected.
“The school has spoken to all year groups about the dangers of aerosol cans and other risks to personal safety.
“The Head Teacher remains in close contact with the family and support is being offered to anyone who needs it.”
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