Poison center calls have surged by 20% amid coronavirus pandemic
Fears of contracting coronavirus have driven up calls to poison control centers in the US by one-fifth, a new report finds.
Over the last three months, calls have increased 16 percent from this time in 2018 and 20 percent from this time last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed on Monday.
The authors say centers have received several reports of adults going overboard on cleaning products such as one woman who soaked their produce in bleach.
In another instance, a preschool-aged child accidentally drank hand sanitizer.
‘Although a causal association cannot be demonstrated, the timing of these reported exposures corresponded to increased media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of consumer shortages of cleaning and disinfection products, and the beginning of some local and state stay-at-home orders,’ the CDC wrote.
A CDC report found that 45,550 calls were made to US poison control centers related to cleaners and disinfectants from January 2020 to March 2020. Pictured: Poison center calls related to cleaners from January to March in 2018, 2019 and 2020
This is a 16.4% increase from January to March in 2018 and a 20.4% increase from the same three months in 2019. Pictured: Poison center calls related to disinfectants from January to March in 2018, 2019 and 2020
The increases were due to rising uses of bleach, non-alcohol disinfectants and hand sanitizers. Pictured: A worker with CleanHarbors sprays disinfectant inside a Marin County Fire Department ambulance in Greenbrae, California, April 14
For the report, the authors looked at data from the National Poison Data System from January through March and over the same months in 2019 and 2018.
Results showed that 45,550 calls were made to US poison control centers related to cleaners and disinfectants from January 2020 to March 2020.
This a a 20.4 percent rise from the same three months last year and a 16.4 percent increase from January through March in 2018.
Particularly, the number of daily calls to poison centers increased ‘sharply’ at the beginning of March 2020 related to both cleaners and disinfectants (Figure).
The authors said that correlation does not necessarily equal causation but ‘there seems to be a ‘clear temporal association with increased use of these products,’ they wrote.
In the cleaning category, bleaches accounted for the largest percentage of the increase at 62.1 percent.
Among disinfectants, non-alcohol disinfectants and hand sanitizers accounted for the largest percentages of the increase at 36.7 percent each.
Increases were seen across all age groups, but it was highest among children five years old or younger, the CDC said.
Over the three months in 2020, the young kids made up 35.7 percent of calls related to cleaners and 46.9 percent of calls related to disinfectants.
In one case, the CDC wrote about a pre-schooler that was found unresponsive by his or her parents and was rushed by ambulance the hospital.
Her family said she accidentally ingested some of a 64-ounce bottle of ethanol-based hand sanitizer in the kitchen, became dizzy, fell and hit her head.
In another case, an adult woman developed shortness of breathing and wheezing after hearing on the news to clean all groceries before eating them.
To soak her produce, she filled a sink with a mixture of 10 percent bleach solution, vinegar and hot water.
‘She…was noted to have mild hypoxemia (low oxygen levels in the blood and end-expiratory wheezing. She improved with oxygen and bronchodilators,’ the authors wrote.
In addition to the report, the CDC released a graphic of how to prevent the spread of coronavirus and clean safely.
This includes following label directions, not mixing chemicals, wearing protective gear, making sure there is enough ventilation and keeping products out children’s’ reach.
Source: Daily Mail | Health News
