Colorful laundry detergent pods look like candy to kids.
The director of Georgia Poison Control, Dr. Gary Lopez, told Channel 2 Action News the number of Georgia children getting sick from ingesting detergent pods has tripled over the past four years.
“These are like magnets to children,” Lopez said.
Not only are the pods colorful like candy but also the detergent smells good and attracts kids to check out the squishy balls.
Children under the age of 6 are the most common victim, Lopez told the television station.
On average, poison control gets more than a call a day about young children who’ve eaten a laundry pod and have to go to the Emergency Room.
“Over a third of the children that we get calls about have to get sent into the ER to get evaluated,” Lopez said. “This is dangerous stuff.”
Back in 2013, a mother told Channel 2 her 3-year-old grabbed and bit into a laundry detergent pod when she turned her back.
Manufacturers have made changes to the packaging over the last three years, putting on warning labels making them harder to get into, but Lopez said the changes haven’t gone far enough and the numbers prove it.
In 2012, the poison center had 151 cases of children who’d ingested a pod, according to Channel 2.
In 2013 that jumped to 353. In 2014 it was up again to 455, and just last year 411.
Lopez said the numbers so far for this year are on track to match 2014 numbers.
“The younger the child the more chances of further injury,” Lopez said. “Parents have to realize they have to keep these products further up and away from the reach of children.”
Children can start vomiting, choking and some have even died from the pods.
The national numbers are on the rise as well. More than 12,000 kids got sick last year. That’s double the number from 2012.
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