Silica Gel Packets and What Happens If You Eat Silica Gel?

What are Silica Gel Packets?

Silica gel pouches can be used to retain moisture and keep items dry. Brands include them in new products, specifically footwear and bags, to shield their items from dampness.

Packaging Brands is a group that analyzes the market for industrial packaging in Europe and describes silica gel in the following way: “Silica gel is essentially the sand form (silicon dioxide) that can take up to 40 percent of its weight in water. It comes in two forms, both non-indicating and indicating. Silica gel that is used to indicate has cobalt in it that causes the crystals’ color to change after the absorption of moisture. because cobalt can be toxic, it is important to avoid contact with food.”

Composition of Silica Gel

Silica gel is a lot of fun to consume. This is why you can find it in many foods. Silica, also known as silicon dioxide (SiO2), is the same type of material that can be used in quartz. The gel forms contain millions of tiny pores that absorb and retain water. Silica gel is porous sand.

Silica gel can absorb around 40% of its mass in water and will bring your percent humidity in a sealed container to about 40 percent. After it is saturated, you can remove and reuse the moisture by heating the gel to 300 ° F (150 C).

Is Silica Gel Poisonous?

While the packets have the infamous ‘Do Not Eat’ warning, silica gel is non-toxic and is not harmful. However, it’s essential to make them inaccessible for animals or tiny children who may take them in, as they could contain harmful traces of other toxic chemicals and pose a risk of choking.

What Happens If You Eat Silica Gel?

Unfortunately, children may think silica gel packets are candy, food, or chew toys and consume the silica gel or even the entire package. Sometimes, adults might think silica gel packets are sugar or salt packets.

Silica gel’s chemical properties are inert. It isn’t broken down by the body, causing poisoning. Because it doesn’t dissolve, the packet packet and gel could cause chokes. This is why manufacturers usually declare them “Do not take food” and “Throw away after having used.”

Silica gel consumption shouldn’t cause you to get sick. Most of the time, it will go through your body without causing harm to you. While silica gel doesn’t have the potential to cause harm to health, it isn’t an excuse to eat lots of it. It doesn’t possess any nutritional value and has the potential to cause digestive obstruction if consumed in large amounts.

What Should You Do If You Consume Silica Gel?

When your kid accidentally consumes silica gel, it is vital to drink plenty of fluids to assist in transferring the gel into the stomach. Then, it would help if you kept an eye on any signs.

If you notice your child experiencing choking and is not breathing, you should seek medical attention immediately and do the following actions:

• For children over one year, they should perform this Heimlich move.
• For infants younger than one year old, do this baby Heimlich technique.

Please don’t put your fingers into your child’s mouth, which could force the package into their airways.

When Should You Seek Medical Care?

Dehydration when you swallow silica gel can irritate the nose and throat, causing nausea, stomach pains, constipation, nausea, and vomiting. It is recommended to seek medical attention in the following situations:

• The silica gel beads can be either pink or blue (i.e., coated with cobalt chloride).
• You’ve had a bowel movement often or can’t hold food down.
• You’re experiencing stomach discomfort or cannot get rid of the gas, stool, or both.

Stomach pains and the inability to pass gas or stool can indicate an intestinal obstruction, which could result from the silica gel sachet.

What is Silica Gel to do?

Expert in cleaning Verity Mann told us that silica gel absorbs moisture, which is why it can be helpful in the home. You can, for instance, put them in stinky gym bags, your underwear drawer, or your luggage if you have a damp swimming suit, and it’ll retain moisture and keep odors at the bare minimum.

Where Can I Get Silica Gel?

Have you thrown everything for good? Besides finding them in new items, You can buy silica gel packages via the internet or from supermarkets and other retailers like Amazon.

Conclusion

Although silica gel might contain some scary warnings on the label, it’s only harmful if you consume much of it. Since it’s dangerous to choke and has no nutritional value, throwing the packages away when you notice the packaging is recommended.

Although it’s not fun to think about the possibility of accidentally inhaling silica gel, remember that it can happen, and, based on all the evidence, the child, you, or your pet should be fine.