PARENTS HAVE been advised to keep liquid detergent tabs out of the reach of children following a number of incidents in which toddlers have been hospitalised after swallowing the capsules.
Last year the National Poisons Information Centre received 144 inquiries from parents whose children had swallowed detergent capsules or squirted the contents into their eyes.
Liquitabs contain strong cleaning agents which have a powerful solvent action that can destroy tissue and cause intense inflammation and swelling. By blocking airways and potentially causing lung damage as gullet tissue is eroded, they can be fatal in extreme cases.
The centre, based in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, says incidents with detergent tabs are now the most common household source of poisoning.
The problem is highlighted in research published by the British Medical Journal today, based on five cases occurring in one hospital in Glasgow over 18 months. The children ranged in age from 10 months to two years and were admitted as emergencies after swallowing capsules.
The eldest child was treated with antibiotics and steroids, but tubes had to be inserted into the other four for several days to treat swelling and ulceration. In one child this was so extensive that surgery was required. All the children recovered, but the authors of the study, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, said the incidents had “a catastrophic impact on the child and family”.
The body representing Irish detergent manufacturers was unable to comment yesterday.Patricia Casey of the National Poisons Information Centre said parents should be guided by the principle of “out of sight, out of reach”.
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