laundry Liquitabs safety warning - please read if you don't know the dangers to toddlers

[EdithWeston]

article here.

Linked in case there are other peole who are unaware of their dangers: there has been a spate of admissions to hospital for toddlers with various very serious injuries. The contents of the tab are alkali and strong enough to cause burns/swelling to eyes if spattered and thread (leading to need to ventilate).

These injuries typically follow small children getting hold of the tabs and playing with them leading to their splitting.

The packaging, according to the article, does not have safety warnings. But they need to be kept out of the reach of children at all times.

It is really smug to say 'did you not know to keep these things out of the way?'. honestly. I have everything out of reach of the children, all the time. But, no, actually not all the time. There have been times when I have been shopping and bought a box of tab washing up liquid, been unpacking the shopping, DS opens a box 'what is this mummy?' or when I have been putting a load on, put the enormous box on the floor next to me, turned for a second, back again to see him about to scoop some powder.

And. the times I let DD aged 4/5/6 pass me a dishwasher tablet as she wants to help.

So, no, clearly not everyone knows. And now I do know so i will be ultra careful from now on and not let DD help. Warning Labels are essential. And thanks OP for posting and making me aware.

The problems isn't just the need for short term ventilation due to airway swelling.

If some is swallowed it can destroy the childs oesophagus (food pipe). To repair this is very complex and can take months/ years of complex surgery / procedures all with the aim of achieving the ability to eat again semi-normally. I have come across several kids who have eaten dishwasher tablets who are still badly affected years later.

IME dishwasher tablets with a big red blob on top are particularly appealing.

Please keep your kids safe and keep these locked away / in an unreachable cupboard.

Thanks for posting Edith mine were not out of reach. Moved then now.

There is a huge X in an orange box on the side of my box of washing powder and on the liquitabs I have for coloured clothes.

I think most people know that these things are not safe, and keep the things out of reach of children.
But kids are inquisitive, and sometimes normal safe practice fails.
I was fully aware that washing powder/dishwasher tabs etc are caustic but not everyone does.
Generally unless something actually happens most of us dont see how dangerous it can be. No one thinks it could happen to them, until it does.

So nothing at all wrong with raising awareness.

I really had no idea. I keep bleach and cleaning products out of the way but out of habit keep things like this under the sink.

Luckily DS has never got into them, but I'd never thought about how potentially dangerous these could be.

I also was not aware of clothes washing products being so strongly alkaline. Dishwasher tabs yes, liquitabs and similar no.
So I am grateful for this thread, thank you Edith

Oh god I had NO idea these things were so dangerous. DD (20 months) has just figured out how to open the safety locks on the kitchen cupboards too.

Ok, it has warning labels but tbh I've never looked at them and thought of them in a similar category as the "Mixed Nuts, contains nuts" labels. In other words, obviously not something you would eat or let kids play with but not as dangerous as bleach.

Of course they are dangerous... They are household chemicals. I'm not sure what the surprise is.

For all of those saying "oh it's obvious" etc etc - yes it is obvious once pointed out and you stop and think, but when packing your shopping away, do you think "right this could burst, must have it padlocked away" etc?

I bet many of you don't.

Good thread, good reminder. I "know" these tablets etc are incredibly dangerous but don't lock them as well as I should because I think my toddler (2.11) doesn't pay much attention anymore. However, I'm now going to have a think again about how to keep things away from him (and younger DD who's now crawling and getting into everything).

It is obvious and yes I do lock all chemicals away. They are concentrated...would you ingest them? So why let them in arms reach of a child, they do look inviting.

No of course I wouldnt ingest them. I'm not an idiot. However I don't lock them away but I will be putting them up high from now.

"Of course they are dangerous... They are household chemicals. I'm not sure what the surprise is"

So is fairy liquid, so is fabric softener, so is dettol. I wouldn't immediately go to A&E if DS got some washing up liquid in his eye, I'd rinse it and check for any signs of irritation.

I do KNOW better - but in my mind I'd classified laundry detergent 'mild irritant' not something that could cause this much damage.

Exactly! Also checked the box when downstairs after reading this thread and it says "irritating for eyes", which would have made me think you would rinse it out and it would sting but not cause serious damage.

Is it the enzymes that make them so corrosive? Or some chemical?

Oh - just read it's because they're alkali - ignore me.

"Of course they are dangerous... They are household chemicals. I'm not sure what the surprise is"

I hope JeuxDEnfants has all the shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, vinegar, lemon juice, toothpaste, salt, baby oil etc locked away too!

Thanks for the reminder, OP. There are chemical and there are chemicals. It really doesn't do any harm, and might prevent some serious harm, for us all to be reminded.

YY - you'd expect oven cleaner and bleach to be corrosive and very dangerous. Not something like Persil though.

Thanks for the reminder OP.

I always considered myself to be very safety aware, and was maybe lulled into a false sense of security by DD, for who "no" meant no.

I had bleach, and other 'chemically' things out of reach, but had liquitabs on top of the washing machine.
DS (then 4) managed to get hold of one and very quickly explode it in his face.

Rinsed his eyes out, then rang NHS direct to make sure I didn't need to do anything else.
They told me to take him to A&E urgently as they could burn his eyes.
I honestly never thought they could do so much damage.

He had his eyes flushed out, and it was awful. Really awful.
He had to go ack a week later to the eye clinic to make sure he still had all his sight. Luckily he is fine.
I was, and still am so ashamed at my stupidity.

It;s never a bad thing to raise awareness.

Of course I do. I have an inquisitive toddler who would gladly drink or rub anything in his eyes. He cannot reach or access any chemicals. Not sure why that is so difficult to believe for some.

My 18mo old bit into one a couple of weeks ago, resulting in a very scary trip to A&E. She was perfectly fine after a lot of (freshly scented) vomiting, which didn't seem to bother her the slightest, but which was frightening for me, especially when I couldn't keep her awake in the car on the way to the hospital.

We were very lucky and I won't be so blase about where things are stored again. I also won't be buying liquitabs again (apart from the fact that they are incredibly bad value and are far too much for a normal load of washing anyway).

DD at 3 , managed to get hold of a persil liquitab and squeezed it as i went to take it from her and it shot up her nose and in her mouth , i think she was more distressed when i held her in the shower to rinse it all off ! Went to A & E as DH had rung them for advice , sat in the waiting room for 2 and a half hours until she fell asleep and then went home . Reception staff quite snotty about me leaving , but felt that any damage would have been done in the 2 and a half hour wait time and as she had been playing happily and eventually fallen asleep at her normal bedtime , had no signs of illness and was quite normal , i would be wasting peoples time staying . Have used the normal powder since .

They are not tested on humans for putting directly on your skin, so They should be kept out of reach. Same goes for All medications and shampoo in eyes or mouth. It's not rocket science... Until children are old enough to understand, it's just best to keep them out of reach.

TheSitChewAceChien, your story is very like mine (don't know how to link to it but was on first page of this thread). Don't feel ashamed. It's not as if we gave them the liquitabs to play with and wandered off... For all the smug types crowing about our stupidity on this thread there are many others saying how helpful it is to have read about this. Thankfully our sons' eyes were both OK and it was just an upsetting incident, but if reading our stories contributes to anyone else avoiding asking a child to 'help' or leaving tabs out because they think their child would know better, then the public vilification is incidental as far as I'm concerned!

It is one thing to keep things out of reach at your own house. But I hope all the people disparaging the OP and making 'it's bloody obvious' comments do a full sweep of every house they enter with their child.

Yes, we are reasonably careful at our own house. But grandparents, friends without children, other children's parents. Children encounter hazards. And knowing that seeing your child near liquitabs is a 'dive across the room and grab them' not a 'stern voice, put it down' (as I would with, say, fairy liquid if it wasn't near their mouth) issue is worth knowing. Likewise knowing that, if they do get hold of one and it bursts, you get in the car and drive like buggery to A&E. I have to admit I'd have filed those with shampoo/washing up liquid, not bleach/drain cleaner in the urgency of action.

Biscuits - Exactly. We don't use them, but after this thread I would never let DD's help put them in the drum, which I would never have thought of as a particularly hazardous activity before this.