A new report to be released Monday in the journal Pediatrics says that there is a significant increase in the number of children exposed to the increasingly popular ‘laundry detergent pods’ sold at grocery stores around the country.
According to a summary of results on the journal’s website:
“There were 17,230 children younger than 6 years exposed to laundry detergent pods in 2012–2013. From March 2012 to April 2013, the monthly number of exposures increased by 645.3%, followed by a 25.1% decrease from April to December 2013. Children younger than 3 years accounted for 73.5% of cases. The major route of exposure was ingestion, accounting for 79.7% of cases. Among exposed children, 4.4% were hospitalized and 7.5% experienced a moderate or major medical outcome. A spectrum of clinical effects from minor to serious was seen with ingestion and ocular exposures. There were 102 patients (0.6%) exposed to a detergent pod via ingestion, aspiration, or a combination of routes, including ingestion, who required tracheal intubation. There was 1 confirmed death. “
The summary then goes on to list conclusions that they’ve drawn as a result of the study:
“Laundry detergent pods pose a serious poisoning risk to young children. This nationwide study underscores the need for increased efforts to prevent exposure of young children to these products, which may include improvements in product packaging and labeling, development of a voluntary product safety standard, and public education. Product constituent reformulation is another potential strategy to mitigate the severity of clinical effects of laundry detergent pod exposure.”
