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WARNING: BEWARE OF HOMEMADE SLIME
WARNING: BEWARE OF HOMEMADE SLIME
We came across an interesting article about homemade slime. It’s a popular thing with the kids right now, so we thought we should share.
The post starts off by saying:
“I’m writing this to let you know our experience with homemade slime. I am not a doctor or a scientist or a chemist. I just don’t want what happened to my daughter to happen to anyone else…
If you have elementary age kids, you are probably familiar with the current slime obsession. My daughter and her friends became obsessed with it a few months ago and couldn’t get enough of it. So much so that they decided they would start making it themselves at home, a simple endeavor providing you have the right ingredients.”
burn from slime
While we know that homemade slime basically consists of:
Borax
White Glue
Water
Shaving Cream
Food Coloring (optional)
You may find a few variations of the above recipe, but these ingredients are more or less of what is used to make it.
The Mom said that her 12-year-old child got sick, which they initially thought was the same basic cold. The symptoms were the same: cough, sore throat, stuffy nose but she was also complaining about headaches and general achiness.
Assuming that her symptoms would be relieved in a few days, they didn’t pay it too much attention.
Unfortunately, they didn’t go away and weeks later, the family was left wondering what on earth was going on! The Doctor found nothing at first – other than your basic cold symptoms, there wasn’t anything wrong with her on the surface.
But the Mom thought there was something more than what meets the eye…
Her husband was actually the one who connected the dots. He said one night, “Do you think it could have something to do with the slime she’s been making?”
She said it was like a lightbulb went off. From that moment, the family banned her from making, holding, touching or even looking at that slime.
The very next day, her headache went away and her throat didn’t hurt anymore. She still had some congestion, but was not coughing. Two days later, the congestion started going away and she was breathing better and talking better.
The Mom started to investigate a little more about what her child was getting into and what she found out was disturbing. She quotes:
BORAX – FROM THE WEBSITE, CQ CONCEPTS:
Boric acid, sodium borate, and sodium perborate are estimated to have a fatal dose from 0.1 to 0.5g/kg. These substances are toxic to all cells, and have a slow excretion rate through the kidneys. Kidney toxicity is the greatest, with liver fatty degeneration, cerebral edema, and gastroenteritis. Boric acid solutions used as an eye wash or on abraded skin are known to be especially toxic to infants, especially after repeated use due to its slow elimination rate.
GLUE – FROM THE WEBSITE, MEDILINE PLUS:
Symptoms of breathing in (“sniffing”) glue fumes may include:
– Anxiety
– Convulsions (from breathing in large amounts)
– Drunk, dazed, or dizzy appearance
– Excitability
– Headache
– Irritability
– Loss of appetite
– Nausea
– Red, runny nose
– Low oxygen level in the blood and organs (respiratory failure)
– Stupor
– Seizures
– Coma
SHAVING CREAM – FROM THE WEBSITE, HOW STUFF WORKS:
Propolene glycol is a humectant like glycerin, but unlike glycerin, it’s more frequently found in antifreeze and brake fluid. Triethanolamine, better known as TEA, is an emulsifying agent, meaning it helps keep the oil and water from separating.
It’s also a very controversial ingredient in the cosmetic industry because not only is it a skin irritant, but many formulas containing TEA are found to be contaminated with nitrosamines, which are linked to cancer. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) are two more controversial skincare ingredients. These make a great lather, but they also have a number of health implications. Lauryl mimics estrogen, which is especially problematic for women, and laureth often hosts a known carcinogen called dioxane.
How scary!!!
Toxic…. Respiratory Failure… Seizures…. Cancer…. Coma…..
I doubt any parent would want to put their kids at risk of any of the above!
In conclusion, the Mom said:
“Can I ever be 100% sure that the homemade slime ingredients were causing my daughter’s illness? Probably not. But… one thing I’ve learned in 17 years of parenting is never to ignore your gut instinct… and ours said that making slime was hurting our kid.
All I can say is please be informed. What seemed so innocent turned out to be full of ingredients that are deadly. So even though these ingredients might have really had nothing to do with Lauryn being sick, the fact remains that these ingredients are dangerous and have no business being in the hands of children. Or anyone.”
Have your kids had an experience with similar symptoms?
You can read the article we referenced here
Kim
August 21, 2017 at 8:32 pm
The white glue part of your story isn’t quite right. Elmers school glue is not toxic. A few yrs ago i recall a woman broke down in the desert and survived 8 days on crayons and elmers glue. The slime can be made differently with cornstarch, laundry starch, etc.i agree the borax is not safe but my child has safer recipes to create her fun.
Kids Safety Team
August 24, 2017 at 11:24 am
Thank you for your comment Kim!
M. Stanton
August 28, 2017 at 3:22 pm
Do you mind sharing the safer recipes?
Patty
September 23, 2017 at 10:37 pm
Did you all seriously think letting kids play with these ingredients was a good idea?
Yes
September 24, 2017 at 9:25 am
>survived 8 days on crayons and elmers glue
You sure you’re not talking about a Marine there?
Landon McGill
September 26, 2017 at 9:58 pm
My dad sent this to me because for a while now he won’t let us make slime thx for the reports
Christina
August 26, 2017 at 10:23 pm
Thank you for this information. I had no clue about shaving cream and I know it’s often used for kids to play with at school! Luckily my son made slime with corn starch, dish soap and food coloring. It seemed like a pretty safe mix of ingredients considering he’s only 4.
gloria wilson
August 29, 2017 at 12:11 pm
My 9 year old granddaughter has been playing with slime for over a year. At first, she was using the borax ingredient but we had heard it was not safe, so we went to laundry detergent and corn starch. We have had no bad reactions. It seemed we could never get her slime to not be sticky and was told the borax kept it from being that way and as long as you use gloves and wash your hands, borax wouldn’t hurt you; only if you digest it. After reading this, I have worries again. Thank you for your article. It has probably helped so many parents whose kids have had unexplained sickness.
Noeleen Murphy
September 7, 2017 at 10:19 am
HI can I get your feed back please my 10 year old is obsessed with making slime she uses shaving foam contact eye solution and pva glue thanks
Idk
September 20, 2017 at 12:08 pm
Contact solution includes borax …
Tom
September 19, 2017 at 9:08 pm
There is borax in many laundry detergents by the way
Kate
August 29, 2017 at 12:12 pm
I agree with Kim, there are safer recipes. I did a little research on the ingredients in different recipes before making some slime for kids. We still limit it because it is a bit messy.
Christian
August 30, 2017 at 1:59 pm
supplies needed
1/2 tbsp of baking soda
1 tbsp of contact lens solution
4 fl oz Elmer’s White school glue
Your choice of food coloring
from http://www.elmers.com/projects/project/elmers-colored-recipe-slime
Nel
September 6, 2017 at 11:35 pm
Contact lens solution has boric acid in.
Sharon
August 31, 2017 at 2:07 pm
Elmer glue and shampoo or laundry soap is all my daughter uses.
Julie
September 2, 2017 at 3:16 pm
My 11 year old daughter has been obsessed with making slime….the same ingredients you have listed. We have noticed that she has been experiencing alot of headaches this summer and we blew it off thinking it was lack of sleep and just general business of the summer activities. I have now thrown out all ingredients and will tell my daughter today, NO MORE SLIME!!! Thank you so much for your post! Really opened my eyes!!
Concerned momma
September 3, 2017 at 4:01 pm
Propylene glycol and all those adverse reactions you described are part of those “healthy” vaccines. All the symptoms you described are long term reactions to the flu shot, and propylene glycol is in all of them.
It’s more likely that those symptoms were caused by your kids shots that went directly in their blood stream, then from handling the ingredients.
Think about it.
Laurie
September 14, 2017 at 7:42 pm
You are misinformed! The flu shots now have no preservatives at all and although we’ve used borax it’s quite toxic so my guess is it’s not the vaccine that is actually a dead virus and without toxins or preservatives
Eloise Quidachay
September 4, 2017 at 3:19 pm
My 19 year old daughter makes slime everyday using the same ingredients. She’s never experience any symptoms. I guess because I don’t allow her making slime indoors, she makes them outdoors. With the wind and the open area, might be the reason why she never had any symptoms.
Laura Cederquist
September 5, 2017 at 9:58 pm
My granddaughter is always wanting to make slime – I hated the mess but now I have a really good excuse (better than just saying “No”) not to let her. She never used Borax, she would use cornstarch instead. She tried all different things that she got from recipes on U tube. Thank you for this info.
Lee
September 6, 2017 at 4:07 pm
Borax is only unsafe in very large quantities. It is not the same as Boric Acid, which is very poisonous (The sodium atoms prevent bonding by the pesky hydrogen atoms which would make it a toxic acid). Its very unlikely that the borax had anything to do with your daughters illness.
I’d be wary about posting things like this in the future. It can cause un-necessary panic about harmless stuff.
Noeleen Murphy
September 7, 2017 at 10:21 am
Hi My 10 year old is using eye contact solution shaving foam and white pva glue whats your feed back on this
Sarah
September 18, 2017 at 9:22 am
A natural alternative that I make for my toddler to play with is pysllium husk and water cooked in the microwave.
Notan eejit
September 19, 2017 at 3:45 am
The dihydrogen monoxide is the big worry.
sciencelover
September 22, 2017 at 6:34 am
LOL!! Win!
Art
September 23, 2017 at 10:05 pm
Dihydrogen monoxide is H2O…… That’s water……
B
September 25, 2017 at 3:11 am
Dihydrogen monoxide (H20) is water. The stuff we drink, splash in, cook with, clean with, and NEED to survive. (You were joking, I hope; if not, now you know what it is.) 🙂
Anonymous
September 23, 2017 at 10:15 am
Guys, I tried this recipe alot of times to make slime and it is safe.
– White Glue
– Clear Glue
– Laundry powder and water mixed
– Lotion
– Food colouring
Slime lover, maybe not anymore
September 24, 2017 at 2:24 am
I got a headache too that wouldn’t go away…
Yes
September 24, 2017 at 9:31 am
I feel like I need to put this out there, borax isn’t a smart thing to use. For the glue part, you are completely wrong. Sniffing glue is normally abused in the form of drugs. This is different from elmers glue, as sniffing glue is usually industrial glue. As for the shaving cream and the propylene glycol, this shaving cream does not contain propylene glycol, but I can not say this is the same for all shaving creams (https://gillette.com/en-us/products/pre-and-post-shave/shaving-cream/foamy-shave-foam-menthol#pane2). However, your main concern is the borax which really isn’t much of a concern if you wash your hands. You also won’t be consuming a very large amount.
A Mom of 2 with common sense
September 24, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Who lets their kids play with BORAX? Isn’t part of this common sense? Just because there is a recipe out there to use doesn’t mean it’s safe. Was there a safety warning? Did any one of the kid’s parents take a moment to think about exactly what they were letting their kids do? Come on folks… a little common sense please.
Jodi
September 24, 2017 at 6:20 pm
My daughter makes different forms of slime weekly sometimes daily using those same ingredients and is healthy as can be. Many kids react differently to different products, maybe she is sensitive, but I wouldn’t suggest that kids should stop making it because of one incident when kids have been making it for years.
tks
September 24, 2017 at 10:09 pm
This is one of those fear mongering stories that have been made up. It’s mostly false. Just google for it. Too many of these passed off as another genuine story.
Nicci Barker
September 27, 2017 at 7:59 am
Dear God I’ve just stumbled on this article. My 10 year son is obsessed with making slime and is constantly playing with it. He has been sick for over a week with constant coughing, congestion, headaches and a sore throat. He has been playing with the stuff even more while he’s sick as entertainment!! Feel so stupid that I didn’t link the any of his symptoms with the slime ingredients but have removed the stuff and hoping for a quick recovery. He was even having trouble breathing during the night!. No more slime for him 🙁
Kimberly
November 3, 2017 at 2:27 am
There are other recipes that don’t use borax. Honestly if a parent doesn’t realize that kids shouldn’t be anywhere near borax, then the parent is the problem here…and a complete idiot who seriously doesn’t deserve kids.
Tracey
November 20, 2017 at 1:12 pm
The amount of borax needed to make slime is soooo tiny. half a teaspoon in a mug of water makes over 40 portions of slime. Kids are making slime from laundry detergent (have you seen all the chemicals in that?) and AirWick Air freshner (really?!) so I think when limiting the borax it’ll be just fine. It goes rotten after a short while and needs binning anyway…. but most people with common sense shouldn’t be giving their child free reign to borax. Supervise them properly, teach them how to make slime properly and I’m quite sure you won’t see many problems. After all… the contact lens solution is made for things that go in your eye!