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Almost 300 calls made to National Poisons Centre about children consuming hand sanitiser

There were nearly 300 calls to the National Poisons Information Centre of Ireland last year about...
Eoghan Murphy
Eoghan Murphy

06.57 21 May 2021


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Almost 300 calls made to Natio...

Almost 300 calls made to National Poisons Centre about children consuming hand sanitiser

Eoghan Murphy
Eoghan Murphy

06.57 21 May 2021


Share this article


There were nearly 300 calls to the National Poisons Information Centre of Ireland last year about children consuming hand sanitiser.

Figures released to Newstalk also show there were also hundreds of calls about children taking alcohol products and bleach.

The National Poisons Information Centre received almost 11,400 calls last year relating to human cases.

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According to Freedom Of Information figures, almost half related to children under four.

Paracetamol was the common household product consumed by children - accounting for over 1,000 calls.

Hand sanitiser has become an essential item over the past year due to the pandemic.

hygiene facilities sanitiser A man uses hand sanitiser gel. Picture by: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

And in 2020, the centre got 296 calls about children consuming the product.

Dr Paddy Fitzpatrick is a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine with Children's Health Ireland.

He says cleaning agents can cause serious damage to children if they consume them.

"We can sometimes see corrosive injuries in the mouth or the food or windpipe.

"Sometimes cleaning agents can be aspirated or can end up in the lungs, and cause significant respiratory and chest symptoms.

"In sufficient quantities, depending on the toxicity of the product, they can lead to very serious side effects.

"It can include neurological side effects, and occasionally could even be fatal".

The centre got 131 calls about children consuming dishwasher tablets last year, and 93 relating to the consumption of firelighters.

Main image: A worker arranges plastic bottles of hand sanitiser at a factory in Kathmandu, Nepal. Picture by: SOPA Images/SIPA USA/PA Images

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