Brightly packaged capsules containing washing up liquids are posing a growing hazard to young children, paediatricians warn today.
The capsules are increasing used in dishwashers and in home laundry.
But in one city of the UK some five cases have been reported of toddlers swallowing the capsules in the last 18 months, according to the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
The incidents happened in Glasgow, Scotland, and four of the children needed several days of hospital treatment. One child needed surgery to deal with damage to the tissue of the gullet.
The National Poisoning Information Service reports some 647 phone calls and nearly 4,000 on-line searchers for information about the effects of consuming the liquid detergent capsules, they report.
They call for improved safety warnings and packaging.
Researcher Dr Lyndsay Fraser, of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, writes: "Dishwasher and washing machine liquitabs are now a common finding in most homes, but unfortunately, seem very attractive to young children due to their bright colouring and soft sweetie-like texture.
"We feel that the increasing trend in liquid detergent capsule ingestion poses a significant public health issue."
Archives of Disease in Childhood September 6 2012
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