More Children Harmed by Ingesting Laundry Pods: Study

Researchers strongly recommend that parents not use laundry detergent packets if there are young children at home

Despite warnings about the dangers laundry detergent pods pose to children, calls to poison control centers continue to rise, NBC's "Today" show reported, citing a new study published Monday.

The study in Pediatrics shows a 20 percent increase in reports of children younger than 6 putting the brightly colored packets into their mouths, with serious and sometimes even fatal consequences.

Researchers analyzed data from 62,254 calls made in 2013 and 2014 to U.S. poison control centers. Calls increased for all types of detergent exposure, but the greatest jump was in the number of incidents involving highly concentrated laundry pods, followed by dishwasher detergent packets.

Study coauthor Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and his colleagues strongly recommend that parents not use laundry detergent packets if there are young children at home.

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