KEY POINTS:
Joshua Ward is not yet 5 years old but has undergone almost 50 operations to remove scar tissue from his throat, is fed through a tube and needs 24-hour care.
He was just 19 months old when he swallowed dishwashing powder, which almost killed him and left terrible injuries.
And while the youngster has battled back to health, his mother Lara Ward has fought to change the regulations governing detergents.
And Ms Ward hopes no parent will go through what she has been through after tomorrow when tougher rules come into force which will ban the most caustic detergents from supermarket shelves.
Only those with a pH of less than 12.5 will be permitted.
"It's been a lot of hard work to get here but it's worth it now," said Ms Ward. "No child should incur the horrific injuries Joshua did. It's a major achievement for us."
Joshua climbed on his ride-on toy to pick up the bottle of dishwasher powder and pour it into his mouth in 2004.
Ms Ward found him screaming and blood coming from the burns on his chin.
Today, Joshua is a happy, cheeky child. But he has a tracheotomy and needs surgery every month.
"It's on-going for him," said Ms Ward. "But he could have died and I'm grateful every day that he is here."
Joshua was one of 615 cases of children ingesting dishwashing powders in the space of 2 1/2 years in New Zealand.
That figure shocked health experts and Starship children's hospital and prompted the hospital's injury prevention division Safekids to join Ms Ward's campaign to lower the caustic level of the powders.
Anne Weaver, Safekids director, said the new regulation was very important.
"It means we will not see another child injured in the way Joshua has been. There are still lots of other issues to work on regarding poisons in the home, but this is one less worry."
Public health officials will monitor supermarkets and other shops to ensure they abide by the ban.
The Environmental Management Authority, which governs the ban, said shoppers would not be affected as most brands had alternatives or had reformulated their products.
Finish, which accounts for about 65 per cent of the market, has been a low pH detergent since 1998 when its formula was changed to non-corrosive enzymes and oxygen bleach.
