What Medical Problems Do Laundry Pods Cause?
Discussion
Laundry detergent capsules are small, single-use pod, liquidtab or sachets with concentrated cleaning product encased in a water dissolvable membrane. They are brightly colored and promote use by being conveniently single-use. They are used mainly for laundry and dishwashers, and look similar to candy or toys which encourages ingestion by children. They were first used in Europe in 2001, and then were marketed in the U.S. in 2010. Not long afterwards, there was an increase in Poison Control Center calls regarding exposure to the products particularly by small children. An analysis from 2012-2013 found the number of exposures increased 645%. Exposure was approximately equal for both genders, and highest in the 1- and 2-yea- old age groups. Almost all cases were in children < 6 years old.
The pods contain anionic and non-anionic detergents and cationic surfactant. Some products also contact alkaline substances. All products contain irritants. It is not really known at this time why laundry pods have more toxic effects than liquid detergent but it does not appear to be simply a chemical concentration issue. Specific chemicals and alkalinity of the products are possible causes.
A review of common toxidromes can be found here.
Learning Point
Patients have primarily 3 types of health problems because of laundry pod exposure (data is from the 2014 study listed below, and is similar to other studies):
Ingestion – most common exposure at ~80%, types of clinical...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
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