Parents alert: Camphor looks like sugar and candy to kids and why that’s dangerous

Kids’ health is one of the most important things. Sometimes they make small mistakes unintentionally, not realising how it can affect their health. One such mistake is mistaking camphor for sugar. When kids are young, they fail to distinguish between the two and may consume it. However, it can be one of the most dangerous things for them. Santosh Yadav, a paediatrician, shared a video on social media talking about the same.


He shared a video revealing how he had two such cases in recent days where kids mistook camphor for sugar and consumed it. He explained how it can be very dangerous for their health and asked parents to be more careful.




In the video, he said, “This is one of the most dangerous things for your child. It looks like sugar, but it’s not. It is camphor. Kids think that it is sugar and consume it. When kids consume it, the camphor gets absorbed in the stomach and then goes to the brain. Kids may feel a sudden sensation when this happens. There’s no cure for this if your kid consumes it, so please avoid that.”


He further revealed, “Parents, we take things very lightly till it happens with us!! Please be very careful and vigilant with this little scientist we have at our house. They are inquisitive, demand independence, and want to explore and try everything they are surrounded with. Two cases in one week came with ingestion of kapoor (camphor). Ingested kapoor is very dangerous for kids’ brains and can cause seizures. 1) The first baby took it from the mandir and ate it. 2) The second baby took it from puja items given along with a wedding card.”


Soon after he shared the video on social media, users shared their views and also revealed their experiences related to the same.



A user asked, “Doctor, mujhe aapse ek sawal ka answer chahiye ke bacche ko loose motion ho jata hai to kya hum unhe coffee powder de sakte hain? Hamare yahan bacche ko nahalane ke liye jo aunty aati hain, unhone bataya, to kya coffee dena sahi hai? Please answer me.” He replied by saying “no.” Another user said, “Yes, camphor ingestion is very dangerous. Faced this with my 3-year-old boy. He was in the hospital for two days. Seizures were there.”