Boy, 13, rushed to hospital after allergic reaction from Facebook virtual reality headset Christmas present

Lewis Gray, 13, was thrilled when he received the Oculus Quest 2 from his grandparents and couldn’t wait to start gaming.

However, the next day his mum, Kirsty Reed, 33, started to notice the skin around his eyes and forehead start to go red.

Lewis was taken to hospital when his eyes started to swell shut, and doctors said it was an allergic reaction.

The Oculus Quest 2, which is also known as Meta Quest 2, is a virtual reality headset created by Facebook Technologies, and can be used to play games.

Mum Kirsty, from Chertsey, Surrey, said: "He played with it Christmas day on and off over a period of a few hours.

"When he woke up on Boxing Day morning there was irritation along his cheekbones and on his forehead.

"It almost looked like he was wearing blush.

"There was a slight amount of swelling so I gave him some Piriteze, but the next morning he’s woken up his eyes are nearly shut with the swelling."

On Monday (27 December), Lewis’s dad Christopher Gray, 39, rushed him to the urgent treatment centre at St Peter’s Hospital in Lyne.

When the doctor saw him, they suggested it was likely a delayed allergic reaction to the headset and prescribed him some antihistamines and precautionary steroids.

Kirsty said: "It’s worrying because you don’t know what’s going to happen or if the reaction’s going to go further onto the throat.

"Anaphylaxis was a major concern as the swelling was so much.

"The doctors had said if you get more irritation in his eyes or it swells more we would have to go straight back.

"It could have completely closed his eyes if it had continued.”

Recall alert

Support worker Kirsty researched the Oculus Quest 2, and found that the product had been temporarily recalled in July.

A recall alert showed Facebook received 5,716 reports of facial skin irritation, with reactions including rashes, swelling, burning, itching, hives, and bumps, following use of the headset.

Facebook, who own Oculus, started receiving reports of skin irritation in December 2020 and started an investigation.

This was then updated in April, saying that they had "identified a few trace substances that are normally present in the manufacturing process which could contribute to skin discomfort."

It added that, even though these were below industry standard, they had "changed [their] process to reduce them even further."

In July, another notice was put on the Oculus website stating that as more people had started using the headset, more cases came in.

It read: "We’ve received reports that a very small percentage of Quest 2 customers were experiencing skin irritation after using the Quest 2 removable foam facial interface."

The  mum-of-two contacted Oculus, which has since told her to stop her son using the product and that they will contact her about next steps.

Andrew Bosworth, head of Facebook Reality Labs, published a letter in July addressing the reports of skin irritation.

It read: "We took the skin irritation reports very seriously as soon as we learned about them and, beginning in December, we promptly conducted a thorough investigation including receiving advice from leading dermatologists and toxicologists.

"These experts have advised that skin irritation can occur in some segments of the population from many household items—even things like tomatoes or shampoo—and that the rates we’ve seen are in line with expectations.

"Our investigation determined that our manufacturing process is safe, meaning no unexpected nor hazardous contaminants were found in the Quest 2 foam interface or manufacturing process."