Baby drinks drain cleaner thinking it’s milk, suffers heart attack and severe tongue loss

A 13-month-old boy from Birmingham suffered severe injuries after accidentally drinking drain cleaner he mistook for milk.

According to British media reports, the incident happened in May when little Sam Anwar slipped behind his mother as she was cleaning the bathroom and picked up a white bottle of caustic soda left on the floor. Within seconds, the corrosive liquid burned his lips, tongue, mouth and airway, leaving him fighting for his life.

Heart stopped for nearly 3 minutes

Sam was rushed to Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where the damage continued to worsen. In the emergency department, the toddler went into cardiac arrest.

His father, 37-year-old warehouse worker Nadeen Alshameri, watched as doctors fought to save his son. “He thought the bottle was milk,” he said. “By the time we understood what had happened, it was already burning him. At the hospital it was burning his airway and mouth. He can’t speak now. Doctors said they had never seen a case like this.”

2 months in intensive care

The injuries were so severe that Sam lost half of his tongue. He couldn’t eat, drink or swallow. At first, doctors fed him through a tube in his nose, but as his condition changed, they had to insert a permanent feeding tube directly into his stomach.

Scarring inside his mouth has become so tight that it is closing up, leaving only a tiny opening. The space is too small for food or liquid to pass through, and doctors are unable to fully examine his mouth without surgery.

Specialists say it is one of the most serious cases they have ever seen in a child so young. Some described his survival as “one in a million”.

A long road ahead

Sam is now 18 months old and back home, but his life is far from normal. He relies entirely on the feeding tube and still cannot speak. His father says he is waiting for urgent reconstructive surgery to repair the internal burns and reopen his mouth.

The family is hopeful, but doctors have warned them that Sam’s recovery will take time, patience and several complex procedures.