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 The pods are all-in-one packets – often brightly colored -
containing detergent that’s released in the wash, so users don't
have to measure detergent in a cup. They were introduced in the U.S.
in 2012. The next year, U.S. poison control centers received more
than 17,000 calls - or about one per hour - about children who'd
been exposed to chemicals in laundry detergent pods, Reuters Health
reported in 2014.
Now a new study, published in the journal Injury Prevention, has
compared the dangers of laundry pods and standard laundry detergent
and found that exposures to the pods are more likely to land a child
in the hospital.
Researchers analyzed data collected in the National Electronic
Surveillance System from 2012 to 2014 on 26,062 non-pod related
laundry detergent exposures and 9,814 pod-related exposures in
children under age 18.
The most common result of the pod-related cases was poisoning, which
occurred in 71 percent of the children. The most common result of
exposure to non-pod detergent was contact dermatitis, a skin
disorder.
Thirteen percent of children in the pod-related cases needed
hospitalization, compared to 3 percent of kids in the non-pod cases.
Small children were at particular risk for pod-related injuries,
with 94 percent of these injuries occurring in children under 6. By
contrast, only 72 percent of non-pod detergent emergency room visits
were by kids under 6.
The study may have underestimated the problem because it looked at
emergency room visits, the authors say. “Individuals who did not
require treatment, sought treatment at a different type of facility
or who self-treated, are not included,” they write.
“For families with young children, this study highlights the dangers
of laundry (pod) products, and really confirms advice from medical
and consumer product experts who’ve been saying ‘don’t buy these,’”
Dr. Marcel J Casavant, Chief of Toxicology at Nationwide Children's
Hospital told Reuters Health by email.
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Casavant, who’s been hired to testify in a child poisoning case,
suggests that if parents buy these products, they should store them
“where the child can’t see it, can’t reach it, and can’t get into
it.” Parents should never give a child an opportunity to grab one of
these pods.
Lead author Thomas Swain of the University of Alabama at Birmingham
agrees.
“A greater effort should be made to appropriately educate the public
about the dangers of laundry detergents, specifically pods,” he told
Reuters Health by email. “While new regulations such as childproof
containers, opaque packaging, and less appealing and colorful pods
could reduce the number of pod-related emergency department visits
for children, caregivers should store detergents, along with other
chemicals, in a secure location where children cannot easily access
them.”
Swain added, “Parents and caregivers should consider warnings from
consumer safety groups; the current recommendation is pod detergent
products should not be used in homes with children under 6.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/29EUHSI Injury Prevention, online June 23,
2016.
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