Packaged in bright colors and smelling sweet, it's easy for small children to mistake it for candy.

Manufacturers are putting concentrated laundry detergent into small pods, and though the packages carry warnings, the pods are being eaten by children.

"She was throwing up, she was crying, she had detergent all the way down her body. It was not good," said parent Jessica Sutton.

Sutton, who lives in Mableton, told Channel 2's Tom Regan her daughter picked up one of the packets Wednesday morning that had fallen off a laundry shelf.

While the mother was in the bathroom, he daughter bit into the packet. The mother panicked and called Georgia Poison Center.

"It's very scary cause they said it could cause the throat, tongue and lips to swell where they can't breathe. It's very scary because even though she is okay, there's other children who have had bad reactions," Sutton said.

Emergency calls related to the packets have surged across the country. The director of Georgia Poison Center told Regan they had received dozens of emergency calls in recent months.

"Nausea, vomiting, they've gotten drowsy. In some cases fluid has gotten into their lungs and they have difficulty breathing," Dr. Gaylord Lopez said.

Lopez said parents should be extra cautious in keeping the packets well out of reach of small children.

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