Children’s eye injuries on the rise – parents urged to be cautious with detergent capsules
Parents are being encouraged to be extra careful about keeping washing detergent capsules away from children, after a rise in incidents at a London eye hospital.
Thirteen children under 5 have been treated for eye injuries after playing with the brightly-coloured capsules. When the detergent capsule breaks, it releases a harmful alkaline solution, which can cause scarring or potentially blind your child if it gets into their eye.
Melanie Corbett, an ophthalmologist (that’s eye specialist to you and me) at the Western Eye Hospital, believes more needs to be done to raise awareness of the dangers. “Parents must keep liquid detergent capsules out of children’s reach – their contents can cause irreversible damage to the eye,” she reported in the British Medical Journal. “If any chemical enters your child’s eye, you should wash it out immediately, with large quantities of water,” Melanie has advised.
Two-year-old Ayanie Roberts was treated at the Western Eye Hospital after a liquid detergent capsule burst in her face. “She started screaming and crying. It was horrible to see her so distressed,” mum Amina told the BBC. “Thankfully there was no long-term damage but it was very scary thinking what might have happened.”
