Hair care products, nail polish remover and more land kids in ER

Study: Poisonings, burns send 1 child under age 5 to ER every 2 hours

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you’ve got little ones in your home, you know to keep household poisons, like cleaning products, batteries, and laundry pods, away from them. But there are other potentially dangerous products that might not be so obvious. In an important warning, Consumer Reports says you should also keep beauty care items like perfumes and hair and nail care products, away from curious little hands.

They may not seem dangerous, but fragrances, moisturizers, deodorants, and other beauty products have been shown to send one child under 5 to the emergency room every two hours, according to a study conducted over a 15-year period

The study found nail polish remover the biggest cause of ER visits, but more than half of the injuries that required hospitalization after treatment in the ER were due to hair care products such as hair relaxers.

CONSUMER REPORTS: Beauty products parents need to worry about

Most of these injuries were due to kids swallowing personal care products, which led to poisoning. The second most common scenario was these products coming in contact with kids’ skin or eyes, leading to a chemical burn. 

So how do you keep kids away from these products?

  • Store personal care products securely out of reach and out of sight. 
  • Keep products in their original container, so if your kid does get into something, you’ll know the exact ingredients to tell the poison control center or your pediatrician.
  • Know where to call if your child does get injured. All poison control centers can be reached by calling the same telephone number: 1-800-222-1222. 
  • Call 911 immediately if your child has collapsed or is unconscious after ingesting a possible poison.