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Laundry Pod-Linked Eye Injuries Surged in Small Kids: Study

Liquid laundry packets are responsible for a surge in eye injuries in young children, according to new medical research.

The pods are already under scrutiny after thousands of incidents of kids mistaking them for toys or candy, the "Today" show reported. But chemical burns to the eyes of preschool-aged kids caused by the packets jumped 32-fold between 2012 and 2015, according to a report published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

The report noted that by the end of 2015, liquid laundry packet-involved eye injuries represented more than one in four chemical eye burns in children 3-4 years old.

An industry group says that voluntary safety standards meant to prevent such injuries were put in place after the period covered in the data.

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