Recently, a colorful balloon has appeared in the streets and alleys, which is undoubtedly an upgraded version of various hydrogen balloons before. Colorful balloons with neon lights not only attract children, but also many young people like it very much.
However, as a pediatrician, seeing children holding this balloon will make them tremble with fear. Then I saw a lot of news about this kind of balloon explosion. I must explain the danger clearly here.
[Net Red Balloon], Upgraded Edition of Time Bomb
This kind of floating balloon is usually filled with two kinds of gases, hydrogen and helium.
Hydrogen is relatively cheap but easy to explode and unsafe. Helium is not easy to explode and safe, but the price is 10 times that of hydrogen. Although the national law now prohibits filling balloons with hydrogen, under the temptation of profits, it is hard to guarantee whether small business vendors will take risks.
In addition to the danger of hydrogen, the colored lights and batteries of the net red balloon undoubtedly aggravate the damage. Batteries and colored lights will increase the risk of balloon explosion and burst.
In the event of an explosion, colored lights may aggravate the damage to people caused by the explosion.
Without explosion, if the balloon is broken, batteries, LED lights and these small parts are also easy to be swallowed by children by mistake, which is at risk of suffocation and poisoning.
How to comfort crying children?
Knowing that there is such a risk, I believe adults will take the initiative to stay away from these balloons. What should I do if children clamor for it?
As a pediatrician, I want to tell parents:
There must be no fluke mentality, never think: so many people are fine, nor will ours. No matter how low the probability of this kind of tragedy is, once it happens to one’s own children, it is 100%.
When children want to buy very much, they should be resolute and reasonable. They should never buy for children. They can try other methods to divert their attention.
In an environment where open flames, fireworks and soot may appear, you must stay away from small business vendors who buy balloons and do not let yourself suffer from the fish in the pond.
When you know the danger, you must spread this safety knowledge in time to make more people aware of the danger.