If there’s anything that makes a house feel warm and cozy, it’s the smell of a nice candle burning. But one mom is urging others to ditch their candles this week after learning how harmful they can be to some of the smallest members of our homes.
Skylar Baldry Marking says she woke up Tuesday night to the alarm going off on her son Hudson’s Owlet sock.
“Yes, the alarm to let you know that his oxygen levels were going down,” Marking wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday. “Every mother’s worst nightmare.”
She raced down the hallway to check on her two-month-old son, who was thankfully breathing despite declining oxygen levels.
Confused about what may have caused the scare, Marking started thinking through the events of the day.
The mother of two says she watches another little boy during the day, and remembered back to 24 hours prior when his mom had asked about some black stuff in his nose.
“His mom texted me and asked me [if] he got into the crayons because it looked like he had black crayon in his nose.”
Marking says he hadn’t, so to be safe, the other mom contacted her pediatrician.
“The nurse knew exactly what it was and told her it was from burning candles,” Marking wrote. “Burning candles can be very harming to lungs for children aged 3 and under. The risks are particularly high in heavily scented candles made from synthetic fragrance. The release of these chemicals inhaled over time can be very detrimental, especially to an infant’s developing lungs, possibly triggering asthma attacks and allergies.”
Marking says her heart “dropped.”
“I had [sic] accidentally left this candle burning all night long the previous night. This is most likely the reason why Hudson’s oxygen levels were going down,” she says.
