Health Canada is warning Canadians about the risks of improperly using hand sanitizers, disinfectants, household cleaning products and bleaches, and reminding them to always read and follow the directions on product labels.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increased demand for, and use of, these products.
However, there have been several reports of unintentional poisonings from their improper use.
Between February and March of this year, poison centres across Canada received 58% more cases of people being poisoned by, or exposed to, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, household cleaning products and bleaches, compared with the same period last year.
Poisonings involving bleach are most common, making up 38 per cent of all calls to poison centres in March.
The federal health agency attributes the increase to factors such as: more cleaning products in homes as people stock up in isolation and more exposure to those products as a result.
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