A study has been conducted regarding the threat of laundry detergent pods to young kids by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and the results show that over 700 kids have been hospitalized and recorded one death from years 2012 to 2013.

Like Us on Facebook

According to the research, the centers for poison control in the United States have had more than 17,000 calls regarding children being exposed to the chemicals in laundry detergent pods. According to Dr. Gary Smith, the lead author of the study, he has seen such cases before but never thought there were that many cases.

The laundry detergent pods have been in the market since 2012. These pods are described as all-in-one packets that are released in the machine so users won't have to measure how much they are to use in doing the laundry.

Kids see this as a treat so they tend to eat it resulting to them being hospitalized or even put on a ventilator if worse comes to worst. The kids mainly are below six years old and were exposed to the pods somehow.

One third of more than 17,000 calls are aged one to two years old and the researchers pressed it is caused by the curiosity of these children and their capability to understand danger.

Eighty percent of the calls recorded were said to be about children swallowing the pods or drinking the liquid from it. However, the researchers pressed not all calls resulted to serious sickness as they explained that one has to be hospitalized if there was enough of the liquid swallow to cause complications.

The researchers added that the symptoms include vomiting, choking, coughing, eye irritation and tiredness. The serious effects are coma, seizure and stomach burn. They noted that the pods might be stronger than regular detergent powder as the effects are of higher seriousness.

Parents are then asked to recognize the threat posed by the pods and noted that they should put the packages away, lock them and close them. They even recommended families who have young children at home should stick with the traditional laundry detergent. 

TagsLaundry detergent pods, threat to kids, kids death, laundry, Research