Should I Have Laundry Detergent for Breakfast? Help from the Household Products Database

Over 7000 household products Listed alphabetically Listed by use Product ingredients Safety and health information Manufacturer contact information Web address: householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov

It was a busy morning at the Smith house. Mrs. Smith was putting a load of laundry in the washing machine while Jenny, her seven year old daughter, got ready for school and Abby, her four year old daughter, ate breakfast.

“MOM! I can’t find my shoe!” yelled Jenny.

Mrs. Smith laid a cup full of laundry detergent on top of the counter while she went to help with the shoe search. Mrs. Smith returned to find Abby pouring the cup of laundry detergent over her cornflakes! “I’m putting sugar on my cereal,” she happily announced. Mrs. Smith snatched away the bowl of cereal and tossed it in the sink.

Whew! That was close! Abby hadn’t eaten the detergent. “But what if she had eaten it?” wondered Mrs. Smith. “How would I know if it was a serious problem or no big deal?” “I bet I could find out at the library,” thought Mrs. Smith. Abby needed some new books anyway.

So, Mrs. Smith and Abby took a trip to the Kreamer Family Resource Center.

Mrs. Smith explained her question to the librarian, who set them up on the Internet. “Let’s look it up in the Household Products Database,” she said.

“The National Library of Medicine has a web site called the Household Products Database. Here’s how it works ! “It can tell us a lot about the products and chemicals used in and around your home.”

Mrs. Smith typed “laundry detergent” in the Search box. She clicked the “Go” button.

A list of laundry detergents appeared. She scrolled down the list and clicked on her detergent.

She found lots of information about her detergent. Is it harmful if swallowed?

She scrolled down the page to read about Health Effects. It said “Ingestion: May result in nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.”

Further down it said “Keep out of reach of children. Harmful if swallowed.”

“It’s a good thing Abby didn’t eat that cereal!” thought Mrs. Smith. “If she had, I would have to take her to the Children’s Mercy Urgent Care Center instead of to the library.”

She found Abby in the reading castle. “Abby, did you pick out some books? It’s time to go!”

“I’d better write down that Internet address. I’ll be using this web site again!”

Household Products Database Over 7000 household products Listed alphabetically Listed by use Product ingredients Safety and health information Manufacturer contact information Web address: householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov