Things that can be mistaken for other items

Manufacturers really need to rethink their product design strategies. A lot of the time it seems like they are trying to be clever and innovative and even cheeky. But do they not realise that some of their products are a serious health and safety hazard?

A young lady in Santa Rosa, California, accidentally put superglue into her eyes because she mistook it for eye drops. For the sake of clarity, superglue comes in 2 different types of containers. One is the tube that you can squeeze and the other comes in a dropper type of bottle. With respect to the manufacturers, it’s actually very easy to mistake both of these for either eye drops or eye ointments which too come in droppers and squeezers. The lady had to be taken to emergency where the doctors had to get her eyes open and apply something to slowly dissolve the glue. The lady experienced extreme burning, and I reckon she’s lucky her sight was not permanently compromised.

In all fairness, when you’re in a hurry, I think it’s very easy to mistake salt for sugar. And when one of those desiccator packets is accidentally broken you’ll notice that it looks remarkably like salt crystals and is, therefore, highly dangerous.

Since the time of Covid, everyone has isopropyl alcohol sanitisers somewhere in their home. Most likely they have more than one bottle sitting around. One most likely at the door, another in the bedroom and probably one in the bathroom as well. But be careful! Did you notice how so many isopropyl alcohol bottles look so similar to mouthwashes? If you are in the habit of keeping both in the bathroom, be careful as to which one you pick up to rinse your mouth out. Remember, isopropyl alcohol can be a safety hazard if accidentally swallowed.

Unfortunately with pharmaceutical products it’s very hard to make medication look unlike vitamin pills. Or is it? I’m sure, like me, you’ve noticed how an antibiotic can look like not only Panadol and ibuprofen but also certain vitamins. They are almost the same size and often have similar colourings. Speaking of the latter, though, is there not some way there can be a general global protocol on colours used to manufacture medication and vitamins? There could be strict guidelines on which colours are permissible for meds and which for vitamins.

But manufacturers of ad-hoc items like to have fun with their designs, not realising that their fun could turn into a disaster for the end buyer. End buyers have toddlers and end buyers are often in a hurry or have poor eyesight. All of these factors can lead to a hazardous situation. I know that many manufacturers label these designs with ‘not to be consumed’ or ‘a choking hazard’ but that does not mean that an accident will not take place.

Go into any shop where they sell toiletries or stationery for children and you’d be unpleasantly shocked by the designs of some of their product packaging, or the products themselves.

Fridge magnets are obviously not meant to be eaten and we all have them. But many magnets on our fridges look like fruits, sweets and vegetables. I’ve seen them look like strawberries, slices of cake, cupcakes and even a slice of fruit, like a watermelon. Now imagine you have a toddler who has the habit of picking up everything and putting it in his mouth. Obviously he’s going to think that the magnet is edible because it looks like food.

The list of items that look like food are never-ending. There are bath foams in the shape of carrots and soaps that are shaped like scoops of ice cream.

There are depilatory creams that look like strawberry milk and pink shower gels packed in bottles that can be mistaken for strawberry milk.

Even stationery for children has bizarre designs. There are rubbers also known as erasers in some countries, that are shaped like little berries and glue that comes in a bottles shaped like a baby’s milk bottle.

 Then there are detergents that resemble cooking oils, toys for pets that are shaped like burgers and other food items, and numerous decorative fruit made from plastic or rubber and that pose serious choking hazards

 It’s impossible to talk to manufacturers to ask them to be more careful with their designs so it’s up to us, as householders who come across these items on a daily basis, to be more careful and to read labels more carefully and not just go by eye.