This Popular Kids’ Play Activity Causes Serious Health Problems

We see them everywhere: in malls, children’s birthday parties, toy retailers, and fast food outlets. They bring much joy to many children, and sighs of relief from tired parents looking for a few minutes’ respite.

However, despite these fun play activities’ advantage of giving children much-needed exercise and burning out their excess energy, they’ve been found to pose some dangerous health risks to the little ones who frolic in them.

A horrified Massachusetts mother found out to her dismay when her 10-year-old son started exhibiting angry red rashes on his arms, which she initially thought were symptoms of an allergy or a series of insect bites.

The scary symptoms…

After rubbing Neosporin on the rashes, Brenda Sanderson thought the problem was solved. However, the rashes developed into painful, oozing sores that spread down to his stomach, and her son began complaining of pain.

The pus-filled sores…

Rushing to the doctor, she found out her boy was suffering from a staph infection…and the cause?

A bounce house.

A few days previously, both mother and son attended a summer graduation party where the hosts had rented a bounce house kids could jump up and down in.

The giant inflatable trampolines are generally considered child-friendly and safe. After all, they’re found almost everywhere children are likely to congregate.

However, due to their size and perhaps because of the time element involved, these bounce houses aren’t cleaned properly, if at all, and the accumulation of germs and bacteria from happy, sweaty children eventually turn it into a high-risk environment to contract a staph infection.

Staphylococcus bacteria under a microscope…

The young boy may have had an open wound or cut on the day of the party, and after spending a considerable amount of time expending unlimited energy in play inside the bounce house, he may have contracted a severe staph infection that caused the formation of painful pus-filled sores.

What a traumatic childhood memory to bear…

So the next time your child attends a party or visits a place with a bounce house, make sure all open wounds or cuts are disinfected and bandaged, and scrub your post-bounce house kids thoroughly in the bath afterwards to avoid the risk of a dangerous staph infection.

H/T: News Foxes