Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Updated : February 7, 2022 5:01 PM IST
COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits May Be Poisonous To Children; Symptoms You Should Know
The viral proteins (antigens) associated with the COVID-19 virus can be detected using a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) of a sample of a person's respiratory tract. This assures a quick and accurate diagnosis, and the CDC has approved its use. In some Covid-19 rapid test kits, the small bottle of "reagent" fluid contains sodium azide, a powerful poison that is particularly dangerous for small children, warn experts.
Even there is a warning by the FDA in a document regarding the harmful effects of sodium azide in COVID rapid test kits. It reads, "Reagents contain sodium azide, which is harmful if inhaled, swallowed, or exposed to skin. Contact with acids produces a very toxic gas. If there is contact with skin, wash immediately with plenty of water. Sodium azide may react with lead and copper plumbing to form highly explosive metal azides."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sodium azide is an odourless white solid that has a fast-acting, possibly lethal chemical. "When it is mixed with water or acid, sodium azide changes rapidly to a toxic gas with a pungent (sharp) odour. It also changes into a toxic gas (hydrazoic acid) when it comes in contact with solid metals (for example, when it is poured into a drainpipe containing lead or copper)."
Dr Kelly Johnson-Arbor, Co-Medical Director of the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C., noted even little doses can swiftly induce dangerously low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, or even heart attacks or strokes in adults. Researchers reported in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine that higher amounts can be lethal. Sodium azide levels in Covid-19 fast test kits aren't always high enough to induce low blood pressure in adults, and the government's iHealth kits don't contain any sodium azide.
Johnson-Arbor said, "However, since children are typically much smaller than adults, they are at a higher risk of experiencing poisonous effects after swallowing any amount," she said.
Accidental exposures to the reagent fluid have been reported to poison control centres. "Some people have swallowed the solution, some have spilt it onto their skin, and others have put it in their eyes," mistaking the bottle for eye drops, Johnson-Arbor said. "If you or a loved one swallows the reagent fluid or gets the fluid in their eyes or on the skin, contact Poison Control right away."
