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.

Good point socknicking, I would have vaguely assumed those tablets were roughly the same as the stuff you get for handwashing.

exactly socknickers. also i do think there is a certain amount of magical thinking involved as well. 'oh i would NEVER do that, only stupid people have these accidents'... it's not true, of course, but it's like a protective talisman in a way.

arf. socknicking

My son got burnt at school by one of these. Another child brought one in and the teacher didn't take it off them. The child burst it over my sons shoulder and it soaked through a school jumper and shirt to his skin. Said teacher did not strip the clothes off him but used a cloth to wipe it away and the residue was left on all day. By the time I got told at the end of the day he had a nice burn that blistered.

Teacher played dumb the next day but parent did apologise to me but wasn't aware it was a big issue and had burnt.

i much prefer socknickers i feel a nc coming on .

totally agree.

yes thats exactly it socking yes i knew they were not good for children, and i wont let mine play wiht them but i do let them help with laundry and it would not have occured to me they would burst so easily or that it was an emergency if they did, i would have treated it like regular washing powder and just washed it off. i would assume it was an irritant but not a dash to a&e job, that is the information that people need to know and i dont think anyone is stupid or negligent for not knowing it!

i am lucky that my mum is a nurse so if i ever have any concerns i can phone her and if she doesnt know she will login to her work pc and can look it up online in seconds and tell me exactly what to do! very helpful when one of my boys ate masses of unguentum m ( very heavy duty moisturiser i use for my eczema)

most parents keep things out of th eway of childrne but yes we encourage them to help and accidents happen and some adults have been injured by them as well.

I am a smug mother because I have a stair gate over my kitchen doorway. Oh yes smug smug smug me.

Which was great. Until I had another mum around, and DS wandered into the living room brandishing the bread knife going "rooooaaaaar"

When I had my first baby, a friend gave me some advice. "In each situation consider what is the worst thing that could happen and do what you can to prevent it". That saw me though bringing up toddlers with common sense and above all, it was my responsibility to make sure nothing went wrong.

Then as they got older I slackened the reins as much as need be, allowing them to take reponsibility for their actions as they get older.

My worst nightmare was when dd was 'helping', got the jif spray out and squeezed the trigger as it was facing straight into her face. And the time I turned round in the bath and dd drank the baby shampoo and started blowing bubbles. She was fine, in both cases, but dishwasher tablets are particularly lethal as detergents and some contain limescale remover. They have always been locked away and I have never asked dds to 'help' me with them.

A word of warning to mums/parents in Northern Ireland! My little boy bit a liquitab a couple of years ago. Given the warning label I immediately phoned our local hospital in rural Northern ireland and told the casualty nurse i spoke to. She was very cross with me and asked how it happened and admonished me but recommended no treatment!!!! I now realise with the recent media coverage that this was entirely inappropriate and I am very fortunate my little boy was ok. I washed his mouth out and gave him calpol. I am now left worrying about whether his mouth was affected and I intend to seek reassurance from my GP asap. I intend to contact the health trust and ask that their casualty departments update their response to such situations as it appears it can be fatal!! In hindsight i should have questioned this and I realise how ill informed some health professionals are. Make sure you get the response you need if this happens to your child!