Story highlights More than 22,000 children were exposed to laundry detergent packets in a two-year period

Calls to poison control centers increased 17%, an analysis shows

Data reveal that laundry packets are more toxic than other detergents

(CNN) Children continue to eat a dangerously large number of laundry detergent packets, new data show.

Calls to poison control centers increased 17% from 2013 through 2014, according to an analysis of national poison data published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

More than 22,000 children, mostly under age 3, were exposed to laundry packets in that period. About 30% of them were "already in or en route" to health care facilities when the call for help came in.

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The data identified life-threatening problems that occurred only when children were exposed to packets of laundry detergent, including cases of children who stopped breathing, went into comas or suffered cardiac arrest. Two children died. The packets can also cause vomiting, throat burns and eye injuries.

The researchers said the findings demonstrate that laundry packets are more toxic than other detergents like laundry powder or dishwasher packets.

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