Laundry Detergent Packets Pose Increasing Risk To Children

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The detergent packets that have become popular laundry items are reportedly posing an increasing risk to young children.

According to CBS News, a study published in Pediatrics showed a 17 percent rise in calls to U.S. poison control centers reporting accidental exposures to laundry detergent packets involving young children in 2013 and 2014.

"We found that the majority of poisonings were due to exposure to laundry detergent packets and unfortunately it was precisely those products that were causing the greatest toxicity," lead study author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, told CBS News.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 62,000 calls made to U.S. poison control centers after unintentional exposure to detergent in children under the age of six. They found that while the numbers increased for all forms of detergent, the greatest increase was seen in laundry detergent packets followed by dishwasher detergent packets, which saw a 14 percent rise.

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The data revealed that liquid laundry detergent packets were most harmful when ingested by kids. These exposures resulted in 17 comas, six cases of respiratory arrest, four cases of pulmonary edema, and two cases of cardiac arrest.