A Mom Noticed Black Specks Up Her Baby’s Nose. How They Got There Is the Warning Everyone Who Owns Candles Needs to Know About

Fire safety isn’t the only thing you have to consider when lighting a candle.

Meghan Budden was going to feed her baby boy, Jimmy, when she noticed something up his nose. She swabbed his nostrils and found black specks inside. At first, she couldn’t understand how this had happened, but then she remembered what she did the night before.

The New Jersey mom had lit two large scented candles and let them burn for six hours. She didn’t think anything of it, until she took a closer look at the labeling on the candle. On the packaging there was a warning: do not burn more than three hours at one time. Due to the extended amount of time, the candle had produced the toxic substance, soot.

“Breathing the tiny particles can cause coronary heart disease, asthma, bronchitis, and many other respiratory illnesses… Particle exposure leads to around 20,000 premature deaths in America each year. Many of these deaths were caused by soot-related diseases. Data also show that soot annually causes almost 300,000 asthma attacks and 2 million lost workdays due to respiratory problems,” said the environmental health and safety consulting firm, Cashins and Associates.

After removing the soot from Jimmy’s nose, Budden still saw leftover residue, but thankfully nothing that would cause her son fatal injuries. Her experience is an important reminder that everyone should take the time to read the fine print on products.

See the video below to find out how to reduce the odds your candles will produce soot.

via Little Things