Challenges with washing powder capsules can lead to the ingestion of toxic chemicals.
Doctors warn parents about online challenges to encourage teenagers to consume laundry bags
— — The spring cleaning may be a few months away, but laundry detergent made headlines this week because a dangerous stunt called "Tide Pod Challenge" is spreading on YouTube and other social media platforms.
The challenges faced by the participants-mainly teenagers and young adults, in the video play-put the pods in their mouths, sometimes even chew them, and then post a video of what happened. Some of them experience foaming at the mouth and severe coughing after eating the pods.
This is not just a strange behavior, it can be fatal. Here are some facts about helping friends and family protect teenagers from the craze for dangerous experiments.
Tide pods are a version of the brand’s popular washing powder capsules, a small package of detergent designed to dissolve when washing clothes. Each pod contains a pre-measured level of concentrated detergent.
The outer packaging of the tide tank is made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which is a water-soluble plastic compound. For the same reason, this small bag dissolves in the machine laundry, and it can also dissolve in the human mouth-causing the contents to be released and absorbed immediately.
Tidal pods are not suitable for human consumption-for good reason. They contain dangerous chemicals that, if ingested, can cause life-threatening breathing problems, damage to the esophagus by corrosive ingredients, burns, blood pressure changes, gastrointestinal problems, and neurological symptoms, including loss of consciousness.
Washing powder capsules contain a variety of chemicals, which may be harmful if swallowed or ingested in other ways. The most important of these problems is a chemical substance called 1,4-dioxane. According to the Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, exposure to this compound can cause eye and nose irritation, kidney problems, and possible long-term lung damage. If the product is used properly, these effects are unlikely to occur.
A Tide spokesperson told ABC News in a statement that the company is concerned about this trend and emphasized that these pods can only be used for laundry.
The statement said: "The laundry bag is used to wash clothes." "No matter what the circumstances, they should not be played with, even if it is a joke."
The exact number of deaths associated with the Tide Pod challenge is difficult to estimate. However, as these products become more and more popular, for whatever reason, more and more injuries are related to the ingestion of these products. According to data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the Poison Center reported 10,570 detergent exposure cases in 2017, involving children 5 years of age and younger.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that from the launch of these products in 2012 to mid-2017, 8 people died from ingesting detergent capsules.
Anyone who suspects that someone they know ingested chemicals from the detergent box should call the Poison Control Center hotline at 1-800-222-1222 and immediately send the contact to the emergency room.
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