Laundry Pods Revisitedby Lewis First MD, MS, Editor in Chief, Pediatrics

In 2014, we published a study (10.1542/peds.2014-0057) noting the dangers of laundry pods which got lots ofnational attention. Not only was awareness raised about toxic ingestion of these detergents, but ASTM (formerlyknown as the American Society for Testing and Materials) also offered voluntary product safety standards thatmany companies subsequently adopted. So did the number of exposures to liquid laundry detergent packetsfrom 2012 to 2017 decrease?  Gaw et al. (10.1542/peds.2018-3117) decided to study the trends by reviewingdata from the National Poison Data System from 2012 to 2017.  Prior to 2015 (the year after public awarenessabout this problem was raised), the number of exposures increased by over 100% per year, but after 2015, thisincrease stopped, and the number of exposures actually decreased (although modestly -by only 18%) inchildren <6 years of age as well as hospital admissions for a laundry pod exposure in this young age group. Unfortunately, in individuals over 6 years of age, the number and rate of exposures continued to increase.  Thereasons for this are highlighted in the discussion section of this paper as well as some recommendations totoughen the voluntary standards and make them more required.  Laundry pods and their exposure risks havenot gone away-and the clean look this study provides on the ongoing dangers they demonstrate-may be justwhat we need to advocate even more strongly for better safety standards for these products.

Pediatric Exposures to Laundry and Dishwasher Detergents in the United States: 2013-2014●

Traumatic Eye Injuries From Collapsible Wire Laundry Hampers●

Pediatric ADHD Medication Exposures Reported to US Poison Control Centers●

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