Small Laundry Pods Pose Big Risk To Little Kids, Study Finds
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Small laundry detergent packets pose more of a danger to children than traditional containers according to a new study.
The report in the Journal of Pediatrics found childhood exposures to these packets increased by 17% over a two-year period.
"We looked at children under six, which is a period where it's called exploratory behavior. They're just out there getting into things – that's how they learn. And, these things are in their homes," Henry Spiller, Director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital and co-author of the study told KCBS.
Despite the potentially dangerous ingredients held within, the pods can look like candy to kids.
"It only takes one, and they're relatively attractive. When they put it in their mouth, then they chew down, you know it pops, and bursts," Spiller said.
The pods can look similar to detergent pods used for dishwashers, but Spiller said the laundry pods contain far more concentrated ingredients.
"The level of danger is much greater for the laundry pods," he said.
Spiller said that modern detergents are much stronger than detergents from the past.
"If you have them in your house, you have to realize they're not the laundry detergent of your parents. This is a different animal that's much more dangerous," he said.
The study calls for the products to be taken off the market.
