Child swallows toy bead set

Little Rock, Arkansas: The parents of a toddler were horrified when their child swallowed part of a colourful toy bead set made in China and then passed out.

He was apparently overcome when the coating on the beads metabolised into a chemical compound known as the "date rape drug".

"I thought he was going to die. I didn't want to tell my kids that, of course, but I thought he was going to die," said Shelby Esses, whose son Jack swallowed a handful of Spin Master Aqua Dots on October 30. "It was horrible."

In the latest recall involving Chinese toy makers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered Aqua Dots off store shelves.

At least two children in the US and four in Australia have been hospitalised after swallowing the beads.

Spin Master Aqua Dots can be arranged into designs and then fused together when sprayed with water.

Jack Esses, 20 months old, started stumbling and throwing up the Aqua Dots after playing with his sister's set, his mother said. For a time, he slipped out of consciousness - waking up only to vomit.

"I thought the Aqua Dots had to have done something, but I wasn't sure because I didn't think they were toxic.

There was no warning on the box that said they were toxic.

It just said they were a choking hazard," the child's mother said.

Dr. Matt Jaeger of Arkansas Children's Hospital treated the child and said he was very worried when he first saw him. The hospital started tests and performed a head scan, but within hours the boy recovered.

"He got better so fast we ended up letting him go home," Jaeger said.

Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolises into gamma hydroxy butyrate, the so-called date rape drug. The compound can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.