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Safety warning for at-home COVID-19 test kits

Poison experts are seeing an uptick in accidental exposures to a toxic chemical found in rapid tests.

PORTLAND, Maine — As self-testing has spiked over the past few months, there is a new warning about home COVID-19 test kits. Experts say they contain a toxic substance that can be harmful to your family and your pets.

Northern New England Poison Center covers Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. 

Since November, the center has taken more than 30 calls about accidental exposures.

"People who are dipping the swabs, into the reagent, and are swabbing their nose. It's a typical thing, people don't always read instructions," said Dr. Karen Simone, the director and clinical toxicologist at the center.

She said the majority of the extraction vials in test kits contain sodium azide, a toxic substance that is colorless and tasteless. Exposure can cause skin, eye, and nose irritation. The vials often resemble small squeeze bottles, and some people are mistaking the bottle for eye drops. 

"It hurts, it requires that you flush your eyes, and it requires close monitoring to make sure it doesn't develop into anything serious," Simone said.

A few cases have involved children ingesting some of the liquid after finding used kit materials in the trash. 

"They put a swab in their mouth, but we have had no symptoms at all," Simone said.

The amount of sodium azide in most rapid antigen kits is very small, much less than the amount needed to cause severe health problems. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone with an eye exposure rinse the eyes for 15-20 minutes with warm tap water. For skin exposures, rinse the skin well with tap water and call the poison center if you or someone else has been exposed. 

Warnings have also been issued by other poison centers including the National Capital Poison Center as tens of millions of homes across the country have received the free at-home COVID-19 antigen tests.

Kits should be stored out of reach of children and pets, preferably locked, and away from anything you may put in your mouth, eyes, and nose. Make sure to read and follow the instructions on the package and throw it away immediately after use, somewhere out of your home.

The NNEPC provides free, 24-hour poison emergency information at, 1-800-222-1222, by online chat, or by texting POISON to 85511.

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