New rules to tackle laundry-capsule poisonings

Laundry capsules will be coated in a substance that tastes repulsive to children from tomorrow, under new EU rules designed to combat accidental poisonings in the home.

Children will spit out the capsules within six seconds of tasting the “bittering agent” under safety measures agreed by each of the 28 EU states.

The capsules will also be packaged to make them more difficult for small hands to open, and larger warnings will remind parents to keep them out of reach of children.

Patricia Casey, manager at the Beaumont Hospital-based National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC), said its helpline had dealt with 144 inquiries between January and the end of October regarding exposure to liquid detergent capsules, primarily involving young children.

“It’s almost instinctive for them to put the capsule in their mouth. The cases we’ve dealt with this year include eating the capsules, eye contact with the detergent, and skin contact,” said Ms Casey.

She said they were hopeful the addition of a bittering agent would act as a deterrent to children who often mistake the colourful capsules for sweets. Reinforced packaging was also welcome, she said, although with the caveat that some capsules would not be “100% childproof”.

Parents still need to keep them either locked away or out of reach, and not “under the kitchen sink where they are too easy to get hold of”, said Ms Casey.

To protect children from laundry-capsule poisoning, the European Commission and the member states in December 2014 agreed to introduce safety measures on liquid detergents in soluble packaging.

As of June 2015, manufacturers had to ensure soluble packaging of capsules available in the EU contained the aversive agent that would make children spit them out quickly.

Capsules placed on the market before June 2015 could be sold until end of 2015. From tomorrow, all products on the market must comply fully with the new rules.

Ms Casey said the most common effect of ingesting a capsule is vomiting, possibly with repeated episodes.

“The child may also start coughing or have difficulty breathing or appear drowsy,” she said.

Fortunately, the detergent rarely burns the mouth, throat, or airways.

She said parents should not induce vomiting, that it was of “no benefit”. Where there is eye or skin contact with detergent, it could cause damage to the cornea, and take 7-10 days to heal.

“In that instance, you should irrigate the eye as gently as possible with flowing water. “After that, you can phone the poisons centre or get in touch with your GP or the local emergency department.”

In the event of skin contact, the hands should be washed to prevent the child rubbing detergent into their eyes.

Between 2011 and 2014, over 720 inquiries were made to the NPIC regarding liquid detergent capsules. The majority of these involved children under the age of three.

NPIC helpline: 01 8092166, open 8am-10pm.