Posted on 02/28/2022 6:36:04 AM PST by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas
CINCINNATI (WXIX/Gray News) - Officials are advising parents to keep at-home COVID-19 test kits away from kids because they could contain a harmful, toxic substance.
The Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center is reporting an uptick in accidental exposures to a possibly toxic substance in at-home COVID-19 test kits, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center said in a blog post on its website.
Poison control centers nationwide are reporting the same finding, WXIX reported.
This comes as more than 50 million households recently received free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government, according to Dr. Tom Inglesby, senior advisor for the White House COVID-19 response team.
The substance of concern is sodium azide which is in the reagent liquid used to trigger the chemical reaction that detects the presence of coronavirus, the medical center reported in their blog post.
The types of test kits vary, but they generally contain a swab, testing card and an extraction vial containing the reagent liquid.
When the liquid is swallowed, the sodium azide in it can cause a headache and lower the blood pressure.
In large amounts, it can cause seizures, according to the medical center.
The medical center said the main call poison centers are receiving is children finding the bottle of the reagent liquid and putting in their mouth or spilling it on themselves.
Poison centers have also received calls of adults mistaking the bottle for eye drops, according to the medical center.
(Excerpt) Read more at wcax.com ...
“The government is also apparently sending them to people who tested positive in the past. My neighbor, who passed away 6 months ago, got one.”
Did it also include a “mail in ballot”?
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