Doctors Warn Laundry Pods A Hazard For Children
(CBS) -- The Illinois Poison Center is sounding an alarming new warning about laundry pods.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports pods are popular because they're more convenient than the liquid detergent we grew up with, but also, more concentrated and much more toxic.
18 month old Griffin loves to play with anything bright and colorful, so when mom Ilja Clark brought home laundry detergent pods, she knew it was trouble.
She stores them behind a childproof lock and pops them into the laundry quickly. That's a good idea, according to the Illinois Poison Center.
"Really in the 20 years that I have been involved with the poison center, we've never seen a common consumer product with this degree of injury," said Dr. Michael Wahl.
A new study highlights the dangers of the pods saying poison centers across the country fielded 32,000 calls related to them since 2012. Two children have died after ingesting them.
"Cleary the worst part is if they breathe it into their lungs," said Dr. Wahl. "Then kids can have trouble breathing, they can have things as minor as coughs, to progressing to wheezing to such severe breathing problems that they need to be put on a ventilator and in the ICU."
Wahl says detergent makers are responding, with Proctor and Gamble announcing just yesterday that they'll now add a bitter taste to the outer layer.
Clark's not convinced that's the answer.
"They put everything in their mouth, its moist and they just stick to you," she said. "I think at that point it's too late.
Senator Dick Durbin has introduced legislation that calls for strengthening the water soluble outer layer and making the packaging less appealing to kids.
Dr. Wahl says if you have kids under 5, you may just want to stick to liquid.
