Originally published August 22 2005
Children are at risk from gel pack dishwasher detergents
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dishwasher detergent packs may be convenient, but many small children have had to be treated for eye injuries after squeezing the contents into their eyes.
Those little gel packs of detergent may be a convenient way to load the dishwasher, but they could pose a serious risk to young children, doctors say.
Over a six-month period last year, doctors at Children's University Hospital in Dublin treated six toddlers who suffered chemical abrasion of their corneas after they squeezed liquid laundry detergent tablets and the contents squirted into their eyes.
''They had been playing around the kitchen, got their hands on these little liquid tablets, squeezed them and the tablets burst and splashed into their face and eyes,'' said Dr. Noel Horgan, lead author of a report on the cases in Friday's edition of the Lancet.
''They're alkaline detergent and alkali is quite a nasty substance to get into your eye, and it causes a chemical injury or chemical abrasion to the cornea.''
Fortunately, said Horgan, the parents had flushed tap water into the children's eyes before bringing them to the hospital --- the correct step to take to reduce eye damage, but one that can be tricky to manage with small kids.
''It's difficult for their parents to wash out their eyes because they're so young, they're in pain and they don't even want to open their eyes.
Horgan said alkaline detergents can be so caustic that they strip off the layer of cells on the cornea (the clear layer over the iris and pupil) and conjunctiva (the membrane on the white of the eye and underside of the eyelid).
Horgan said all six of the Irish toddlers, most of whom injured only one eye, have healed well and appear not to have sustained long-term damage.
The gel packs in question contained laundry detergent, a product that is not sold in Canada.
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