Household products
The NPIS receives many enquiries related to possible exposures to household products. Recently, for a prospective study, the NPIS Units collected 5939 consecutive enquiries relating to 6086 household cleaning products received from UK physicians and other healthcare workers over a 14-month period. Where possible, to determine outcome, each enquiry was followed up by telephone within four hours to ensure that the maximum data were obtained.
The majority of enquiries (65%) concerned children of five years of age or less and were received predominantly from hospitals (32%), general practitioners (30%) and NHS Direct/NHS 24 (28%). The vast majority of exposures occurred at home (98%), with less than 1% occurring at work. Most exposures were accidental (94%). The top 20 common products to which patients were exposed are shown in the Table left; more details on exposures to liquid detergent capsules are provided here.
Click here for information on common features of household product poisoning
Information from the NPIS Annual Report 2009/10
| What we advise on | General trends and changes | Household products | Household products - features | Liquid detergent capsules | Drugs of misuse | Medication errors | Antifreeze and screenwash products | Pharmaceutical products | Carbon monoxide | Lead exposure in pregnancy |