Confusing a candle jar full of molten wax for a glass of milk earned this toddler a five-day stay in ICU.

Writing in BMJ Case Reports, doctors said that the UK boy’s father found his toddler next to the candle jar, not breathing, and had to scoop a “significant amount” of wax out of the boy’s mouth.

The father then stuck a finger down the boy’s throat and the toddler started breathing, coughing and projectile vomiting.

His parents put the boy under cool, running water to remove wax from his face and eyelids, but said he continued to cough and his stomach looked “odd” when he breathed.