According to research released earlier this year, the good news is that the overall number of kids ages 5 years and younger treated in emergency departments for household cleaning product-related injuries fell 46% from 22,141 in 1990 to 11,964 in 2006. Child-resistant packaging mandated for the most dangerous products — furniture polish, drain cleaners, and oven cleaners — appears to be partly responsible for the overall drop in childhood injuries from these items.
The bad news is that injuries in young children due to ingestion of cleaning materials contained in spray bottles did not decline. The report suggested that a key reason is that spray bottles don't feature the same degree of safety mechanisms that other types of bottles and containers do.
At the end of the day, researchers concluded, the optimal saftey approach is to stored cleaning products in locked cabinets after every use out of the reach of children.
Read more about the research on MedPage Today.
