Laundry Detergent That Looks Like Candy Making Kids Sick

Laundry detergent packaged in mini packs is poisoning some children who are confusing the products’ brightly colored packaging for candy, the Associated Press is reporting Thursday.

Nearly 250 cases have been reported this year to poison control centers and doctors are concerned, according to the Associated Press.

Ingesting the detergent in the packets can cause nausea and breathing problems that are more severe than typical detergent poisoning, according to the Associated Press news report.

“We look at these pods (packets) as being clearly more dangerous than the standard detergent," Dr. Kurt Kleinschmidt, a Dallas toxicologist, told the Associated Press.

Dr. Michael Buehler of the Carolinas Poison Center told the Associated Press there were several possible reasons why the packets carry a higher risk: the packets carry a full cup's worth of detergent in bite-size form or the detergent in the packet might activate more quickly or differently.

"The children get sicker, more severe, and they do this quicker than what we've seen with standard liquid laundry exposure," Dr. Buehler said.

Both Tide and Purex introduced laundry detergent packets in March. They're intended to be used in a laundry machine in place of liquid or powder detergent.