Injuries from chemicals in laundry detergent pods steadily rise
Manufacturers have made strides in improving child-resistant packaging but for every 100,000 Americans, 28.4 children under the age of six got some form of household cleaning products in their eyes. The greatest exposure was amongst 2-year-olds with a whopping 62.8 cases per 100,000 citizens.
The enticing, colorful, "snack" size laundry pods are particularly problematic. They are highly concentrated and can be more harmful when ingested or when they come into contact with eyes than their less concentrated counterparts.
Ocular injuries from laundry pods range from mild eye redness and irritation to the more severe corneal abrasions and burns. These statistics highlight the need for more care to be taken in preventing children from accessing laundry pods and other caustic household cleaning products. Keeping such products in their original container, and either locked away or placed on a high shelf out of reach are all advised to help prevent injury.
