Many children ate detergent capsules because of their colorful appearance

There are more and more cases of poisoning by so-called detergent capsules
When we clean our clothes, we certainly do not think of the health of our children first. Both parents and children may be unconscious of the danger posed by so-called laundry capsules. The detergent capsules, which are usually filled with light-colored liquid or gel, are often confused with sweets by children and then consumed. There is at least one incident per day with poisoning by these detergent capsules.

It is urgent that parents keep so-called laundry or detergent capsules out of the reach of their children. Small children often confuse this form of detergent with sweets. These are then falsely consumed. The contained chemicals can cause serious damage to health, the British Local Government Association (LGA) warned in a news release.

Laundry capsules are often confused with sweets by young children. The problem is that these capsules contain toxic chemicals. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com)

Every day children confuse laundry capsules with sweets and consume these capsules filled with toxic chemicals
When children ingest detergent capsules, they cause internal burns, swelling and difficulty breathing. There is even a risk of coma falling due to consumption, warn the authors. Contact with the eyes can also cause damage and in the worst case cause temporary blindness. The latest figures show that more than one incident happens with lingerie capsules and children a day. As a rule, the affected children are under the age of five, explain the experts of the LGA.

In the UK alone, there have been more than 2,000 poisonings in the past five years
In the UK alone, there have been more than 2,000 registered cases of intoxication through laundry capsules in five years, say the experts. There were 404 cases in 2014, 424 in 2013, 422 in 2012, 434 in 2011 and 486 in 2010 according to the most recent annual breakdown of reported incidents in the UK. Parents need to be better informed about the dangers of detergent capsules in order to prevent the growing number of poisoning cases, says Izzi Seccombe, spokeswoman for the LGA.

Be sure to store laundry capsules high up or in locked cabinets
Laundry capsules usually look colorful and have only a small size. For this reason many children confuse these capsules with sweets, explain the physicians. If they bite on such a capsule, a cocktail of harmful chemicals in the mouth will be released. These dissolve in the mouth and are absorbed by the children. This will cause serious damage to the health of our children, the scientists warn. The frequency with which these incidents occur is deeply disturbing. However, simple precautions can prevent this danger. Household chemicals should generally be stored high or in lockable cabinets. This greatly reduces the likelihood that young children will get these poisonous capsules, the experts say. Even if you do your laundry, you need to be alert and keep an eye out for the detergent capsules whenever children are around. It only takes seconds to grab and consume one of the capsules. A moment of inattention may mean that your child is suffering health damage, the scientists warn. (As)