When it comes to using public bathroom changing tables, it’s a matter of get in, get out, and get gone. Those hard plastic changing tables have seen far too many bottoms for any mama to think about, but boy are we glad that they’re there!
While most of us do a quick swipe of the hand or lay down a blanket before getting to work, one mom is warning parents everywhere about those little black “scuff marks” you see on public changing tables—and it’s a PSA you can’t afford to miss.
Jessica Wayman took to Facebook explaining that those little black marks on changing tables likely are not dirt.
“PSA: Before putting your babies anywhere near these things, ALWAYS wipe them down first,” the 24-year-old mother from Indiana writes.
“See the black marks? Those are from burnt spoons,” the mom, who is a recovering addict herself, explained. “Addicts use these as tables while they shoot up.”
Now she’s urging parents to invest in some carry-along Clorox wipes, and clean the changing tables off every single time.
“Even if you are in a hurry, even if you have a blanket to lay down,” she says.
“There could be residue from heroin/meth whatever, and other harmful bodily fluids. If someone doesn’t care about themselves, I can promise you, they aren’t thinking about your kids. Be cautious”
She hopes her post, which quickly went viral with over 175,000 shares, reaches parents, grandparents, babysitters, and any other unsuspecting guardian, as it could literally mean the difference between life and death for a baby.
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Jessica explained that “all it would take is flakes getting stuck to a blanket, and the baby later putting the blanket in their mouth” for disaster to happen. “Especially with all the Fentanyl out there right now, it takes a tiny amount to kill a full grown adult, it would take even less to kill a tiny baby.”
In an edit to her original post, Jessica hinted at some backlash she had received, with some social media users accusing her of sharing false facts to cause fear in parents.
But as someone who knows a thing or two about the ways addicts work, Jessica stands by her original warning saying, “this is very REAL.”
“Along with people using them as tables while they shoot up, they are also OFTEN used by addicts to bust drugs out and crush them up upon,” she explained. “So again, be cautious.”
Jessica says only those who are addicts or recovering addicts would know these facts, and she takes great responsibility in using her knowledge and experience to warn other parents.
