Detergent pods are helpful laundry solutions, but a new study shows they might not be very friendly to small kids. Research shows that the plastic-coated pods cause chemical eye burns in children.
Young Kids May Think That Laundry Detergent Pods Are Toys Or Candies
Lead researcher Dr. R. Sterling Haring from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore said that the pods look like toys or candies, and kids, especially those whose age ranges from three to four years old, play with them, puncturing them causing the chemicals inside the pods to get into their eyes, Consumer Reports said.
When these plastic-coated detergent pods were introduced five years ago, chemical eye burns in 3- to 4-year-old kids increased at least 30 times over a four-year period, and the pods accounted 26 percent of all such eye injuries. "Most occurred when children punctured or broke a pod and the detergent squirted into their eye, or it got on their hands and they rubbed their eyes," Haring said.
Chemical Burns Caused By Detergent Pods May Cause Blindness
Haring and his colleagues used data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for this study, and they looked for eye injuries caused by chemical burns or conjunctivitis among 3- to 4-year-olds between 2010 and 2015, US News said. Haring said that one of the reasons why laundry pods may be dangerous is because chemicals in the pods are alkaline rather than acidic.
The researchers warn that the detergent can burn the cornea, leaving a scar that may impair vision, and can even cause blindness. In severe cases, kids may need a corneal transplant to restore vision. Experts advised that if a child has a chemical burn, rinse the eye with cool water under a faucet for 20 minutes. The longer the chemical sits on the eye, the more likely it is to leave a lasting burn and threaten vision, so wash the infected eye right away.
