CDC says poison hotlines see spike from cleaning product accidents amid virus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says poison hotlines have seen a spike from cleaning product accidents since the coronavirus outbreak.

The first laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. came from Washington state on Jan 19.

From January to March, CDC said poison centers have received 45,550 exposure calls regarding cleaners and disinfectants. That represents a little over a 20% increase in calls from the same time period last year.

CDC says although data doesn't provide a "definitive link" between exposures and COVID-19 cleaning efforts, "there appears to be a clear temporal association with increased use of these products."

CDC highlighted two recent cases, one in which a young child apparently ingested an unknown amount of ethanol-based hand sanitizer and was rushed to the hospital. Her parents said she became dizzy, fell and hit her head. She vomited on the way to the ER and her blood alcohol level was found to be at more than three times was most state law define as the legal driving limits. She stayed in pediatric ICU overnight and was discharged the next day. CDC said she did not suffer traumatic injuries.

In another case, CDC says a woman say on the news to make sure to clean groceries before consuming them. So, she soaked her produce in a sink filled with a mixture of 10% bleach solution, vinegar, and hot water. She said she noted that her kitchen smelled like chlorine and she developed difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing. She called 911, was transported to the ER and released a few hours later.

CDC says there could actually be many more cases of poisonings, because right now it only tracks people actually calling poison centers for help.