February 6, 2017.
According to a study carried out by a team of researchers from Johns-Hopkins University in the United States, the number of domestic accidents due to detergent pods is increasing across the Atlantic.
The number of accidents has multiplied by 30 in 4 years
Laundry contains dangerous chemicals. Therefore, it is advisable to wash your hands thoroughly after touching it. With the arrival of detergent pods, the number of eye burns and conjunctivitis has increased 30-fold in 4 years, in the United States. This is what a study published in the specialized journal reveals JAMA Ophthalmology.
The main victims: children, attracted by these colorful candy-like cartons. According to this work, in 2011, no hospital in the United States had had to take care of a child following the explosion of a detergent pod. However, in 2012, 12 children aged 3 to 4 were admitted to the emergency room with eye lesions. In 2015, 480 children suffered severe eye burns or conjunctivitis after handling laundry cartons.
The first victims are children under 5 years old
The packaging of these pods has been designed to dissolve in water, so it is very fragile and explodes at the slightest pressure. It can also break on contact with saliva, as soon as the child puts them in the mouth.. It is common for explosions to shoot directly into the eyes or for the child to end up with lye on their hands and then rub their eyes, causing severe burns.
It is therefore imperative that parents be more careful and put these dangerous products in a place inaccessible to children, either high up or in locked cupboards. According to figures from poison control and toxicovigilance centers, from 2005 to 2012, 7,562 accidents were recorded in France following a detergent pod explosion. In 92% of the cases, the victims were children under 5 years old.
Marine Rondot
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