Child eye injuries from liquid detergent capsules on the rise - - India News Times

Eye doctors are asking people to be cautious with the use of liquid capsules for fabric detergents following a wave of child eye injuries. Rashmi Mathew and Melanie Corbett from The Western Eye Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London say that last year chemical injuries linked with these capsules made up for 40 per cent of ocular chemical injuries in children under the age of five at their hospital. They also report that Guy's and St Thomas' Poisons Unit received 192 enquires related to the capsules during 2007-08 and 225 calls during 2006-07, a fifth of which related to ocular exposure. Of the 13 children they have examined recently, corneal burns resolved with no complications in 12 cases. However, one child received ocular irrigation (copious flushing of the eye with sterile water) only on arrival in accident and emergency and thus sustained extensive corneal burns. The capsule in most liquid detergent capsules is a water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol membrane, points out co-author Katherine Kennedy, senior chemist at Guy's Toxicology Unit in London . The liquid detergent is a mixture of three active agents - an anionic detergent, a non-ionic detergent, and a cationic surfactant - dissolved in water to give an alkaline solution, making the capsule more dangerous than thought. The authors warn that alkali injuries are the most severe form of chemical eye injury which can cause irreversible damage and lead to lifelong problems such as constant discomfort, scarring and even amblyopia (lazy eye). The authors conclude: "After recent discussions with Guy's Poisons Unit, some manufacturers have made hazard labels more prominent. But greater consumer awareness is required to reduce injury. Such concentrated cleaning products must be kept out of the reach of children, and immediate irrigation is crucial to reduce the risk of clinically significant injury." The report has appeared in this week's BMJ.