Study finds laundry detergent pods, serious poisoning risk for children

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 10-Nov-2014

Contact: Gina Bericchia
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Study finds laundry detergent pods, serious poisoning risk for children
One young child per day hospitalized in 2012 and 2013 because of pods; researchers recommend households with young children use traditional detergent instead

Laundry detergent pods began appearing on U.S. store shelves in early 2010, and people have used them in growing numbers ever since. The small packets can be tossed into a washing machine without ever having to measure out a liquid or powder. The convenience, though, has come with risks for young children.

A new study from researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that from 2012 through 2013, U.S. poison control centers received reports of 17,230 children younger than 6 years of age swallowing, inhaling, or otherwise being exposed to chemicals in laundry detergent pods. That's nearly one young child every hour. A total of 769 young children were hospitalized during that period, an average of one per day. One child died.

One and two year-olds accounted for nearly two-thirds of cases. Children that age often put items in their mouths as a way of exploring their environments. Children who put detergent pods in their mouths risk swallowing a large amount of concentrated chemicals. The vast majority of exposures in this study were due to ingestion.

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