6-year-old girl almost died after inhaling helium gas from foil balloon

6-year-old girl almost died after inhaling helium gas from foil balloon

2026-01-19

A 6-year-old girl in Tainan almost lost her life while playing with a helium foil balloon. She accidently inhaled a great amount of helium gas after noticing a hole in the balloon and attempted to blow it up herself. She collapsed onto the floor in the living room, due to oxygen shortage. The father didn’t think much at the very beginning when he noticed her on the floor, but soon realized that something was really off. To his horror, the girl’s lips had completely darkened from low oxygen, meaning she could’ve actually lost her life. Fortunately, she survived.

Three kids are recorded playing with balloons in the living room. The girl on the right has her face up against a unicorn balloon. She clutches the balloon tightly in her hands, runs a lap and suddenly collapses onto the floor. Her younger siblings didn’t find this strange at all. About a minute later, the father comes out from the restroom. He also didn’t notice any abnormality.

Mr. Wu
Father
She was lying on her side and curled up, but there was a pool of urine spilling out from her. So I asked her, “Why did you pee on the floor?” She didn’t respond. So I went back to put on my pants.

About another minute or so, the father began to realize that something was wrong. So he got dressed and removed the foil balloon from the girl’s face. He was frightened by what he saw then.

Mr. Wu
Father
I pulled the balloon off her, and noticed there was suction between the balloon and her face, so I removed it forcefully. That’s when I noticed that her lips had completely darkened. So I yelled at her, and she awakened, and started to cry loudly. I was so shocked. I almost thought she died.

Mr. Wu recounted this scary incident. His eldest daughter, a 6-year-old girl, was playing with this exact foil balloon in the shape of a unicorn head. There was a hole in the balloon, so the girl thought she’d inflate it with her mouth, only to risk losing her life. The doctor said that would certainly be the case if she were to inhale a greater amount of helium gas from the balloon.

Mr. Wu
Father
She held it up against her face to blow it up. But kids don’t know how to blow up a balloon properly. So she blew into it, and then stopped to inhale so she could blow more air. But she ended up inhaling the helium gas that was inside. After a few inhales and a few steps on her feet, she suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed.

Yen Tzung-hai
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital medical toxicologist
Helium gas itself isn’t toxic, but inhaling helium gas lowers the oxygen level in the body. If the helium reaches a certain concentration, it would lower the oxygen level in the body to the extent that the patient starts showing symptoms of hypoxemia.

Helium foil balloons in all sorts of adorable styles are children’s favorite. They’re also a must-have in birthday parties. A balloon vendor cautions that kids could deliberately inhale the helium gas for its voice-altering effect.

Balloon vendor
Describing effect of inhaling helium
After you inhale, you voice will change because of the gas, it’s amusing.

Meanwhile, doctors also remind parents to be cautious when their kids are playing with balloons, as they could be hazardous no matter what it’s filled up with.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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#balloons #heliumballoons #chokinghazard #safety #birthdayparty

嘴唇發黑! 6歲女童吹氣球"吸入氦氣" 缺氧倒地險喪命

2026-01-19

台南有一名六歲女童，因為大型的鋁箔氣球破洞漏氣，於是用嘴去吹氣，沒想到卻反而吸入氣球內的氦氣，導致缺氧倒地，一旁的家長第一時間還沒發現，過了兩三分鐘才覺得不對勁，趕緊一把拉走氣球，女童嘴唇發黑，緊急送醫，才撿回一命。

三名小朋友在客廳內玩氣球，右側這名小女生，臉幾乎埋進獨角獸造型的氣球裡，兩隻手緊抓著氣球，在客廳繞了一圈之後，突然倒地，這時弟弟妹妹都沒覺得有異狀，大約一分鐘後，爸爸上廁所出來，發現女兒倒在地上，第一時間也沒覺得不對勁。

[[當事家長吳先生]]
“側躺在地上縮蜷在那邊，但是她屁股那邊地上有一攤尿，我就問她，你為什麼要尿地上呢？她都不理我，我還傻傻的，想說先把褲子穿好。”

又這樣過一分多鐘，爸爸覺得愈來愈不對勁，趕緊把褲子穿好，一把把氣球從女兒臉上拉走，當下快嚇暈。

[[當事家長吳先生]]
“用手拉氣球，結果發現，整個氣球已經吸附在她臉上了，我就大力把它扯掉，發現她的嘴唇全部是黑色，我就趕快大叫，她就突然醒來，然後一直大哭。傻了啊，我以為她死了。”

吳先生出面還原這令全家驚恐的瞬間，當時六歲大女兒玩的就是這款鋁箔材質的獨角獸氣球，因為氣球破了個洞，女兒就用嘴去吹氣，沒想到卻差點丟了命，醫生說，如果再吸多一點就完了。

[[當事家長吳先生]]
“她把它黏在臉上吹，小孩子不會吹嘛，她吹一口空氣要吸氣再吹，剛好把裡面的氦氣吸進去，吸了沒幾口，走了2、3下，她就突然失去意識跌倒了。”

[[林口長庚臨床毒物中心主任顏宗海]]
“氦氣它本身是沒有毒性，氦氣吸到人體內就減少空氣中氧氣的濃度，如果說氦氣的濃度高的話，它會造成(身體)空氣中氧氣的濃度降低，會出現缺氧症狀。”

各型多樣又可愛的卡通氣球，深受小朋友的喜愛，尤其辦生日趴時，更是少不了它。氣球業者提醒，不只破洞，小朋友可能會去吹，更多的是因為好玩。

[[氣球業者]]
“吸氣之後，聲音因為氣體的關係，聲音會變聲，會很好玩。”

醫生提醒，不管是氫氣氣球還是氦氣氣球，都有危險性，家長千萬要留意。

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Hu Yuan-hsing
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When you arrive, you need to give the secret password. Call for A-hsing阿興. It’s rustic and homey. When you come here, call for A-hsing, and I’ll know you’re my customer. If you just call for the boss, sorry, it could be the neighbor across the way or next door.

Hu Yuan-hsing has been selling stinky tofu for 30 years, all without any help. He’s busy running the kitchen by himself, so when you arrive, remember to shout out: “A-hsing! I want stinky tofu.”

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My husband suggested I come check it out. It’s strange to get stinky tofu in the mountains. I found it weird when I got here.

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I saw it online and came out of curiosity. Everyone said the owner is a strange guy, and so is the tofu. That it’s really stinky. I drove for 40 minutes to get here.

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Taiwan’s trade team, led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun and chief negotiator Yang Jen-ni, touched down at Taoyuan International Airport around 6 a.m. Monday morning. They were warmly greeted by several lawmakers.

Many more awaited their arrival, including representatives of industry associations, holding placards commending the president’s and vice premier’s leadership. Premier Cho Jung-tai offered the team bouquets of nanoprinted orchids bearing the flags of Taiwan and the US.

Cho Jung-tai
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The whole negotiation process was really, really tough. We have in fact gained substantive and meaningful results throughout the process. Of course, it’s going to be a tough road ahead. At 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, we will hold a formal press conference at the Executive Yuan to formally explain our results, with the vice premier and chief trade negotiator.

Cheng Li-chiun
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I only knew that the premier was coming on the flight, because apparently he asked our colleagues to keep it a secret. So I was so nervous on the flight that I couldn’t sleep. In fact, the president and premier are always on standby in Taiwan despite the time-zone difference. They’re always just a phone call away for me to seek advice and gain approval. The entire government, everyone, had worked so hard together to be here today. Our negotiations with the US on supply chain partnership prove one thing. That is, through the efforts of the Taiwanese, Taiwan’s technologies and industries have become a key force in the world.

The vice premier gave credits to all government officials for the trade deal, as well as emphasized Taiwan’s global leadership in advanced technologies. The chief trade negotiator, Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni, couldn’t help but shed a tear. Immediately after returning to Taiwan, the vice premier headed to the Presidential Office to attend a ceremony hosted by the president, to recognize outstanding career officials for the year 2025. President Lai Ching-te also commended the trade team in his remarks.

Lai Ching-te
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I would like to thank Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun for leading the negotiations team for successfully gaining Taiwan trade terms on par with major US allies. This also allows Taiwan to gain the best possibly competitive footing amid changing world order. Seeing the results of the trade talks, I, as president, will certainly propel Taiwan forward along the path of progress.

The president is confident in his leadership amid unstable global order. Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan will also hold a press conference on Tuesday morning, for the negotiations team to fully and directly present the terms of the trade deal to the country.

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