Clinical toxicology : the official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology and European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Mar 2017
The impact of an international initiative on exposures to liquid laundry detergent capsules reported to the United Kingdom National Poisons Information Service between 2008 and 2015.
Although the majority of those exposed to liquid laundry detergent capsules remain asymptomatic or suffer only minor clinical features after exposure, a small proportion develop central nervous system depression, stridor, pulmonary aspiration and/or airway burns following ingestion or conjunctivitis and corneal ulceration following eye exposure. As a consequence, the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products (AISE) established a Product Stewardship Programme in Europe, requiring that safety measures be implemented to reduce the visibility of, and restrict access to, these detergent capsules by small children. Implementation occurred in the United Kingdom over several months during the first half of 2013. ⋯ There is no evidence that the Product Stewardship Programme had a beneficial impact on the number of exposures reported to the National Poisons Information Service or their severity.