Awareness of toxic chemicals in entertainment and educational materials

Introduction: security offered by the materials used to manufacture some tools forrecreational activities and/or educational assistance may not have been adequatelycontrolled. Some of the substances most frequently involved are heavy metals like leadand cadmium in toys made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) also known as vinyl.Objective: to perform a review of potential toxicity generated by toys and educationalmaterials, and raise awareness among health professionals in order to promote clinicalsuspicion of intoxication due to use of toys and school supplies.Methodology: review articles, case reports and consensus about the relationshipbetween chemicals in toys and educational materials with toxic pathologies, involvingpediatric patients of both sexes, were evaluated. Electronic search was conducted inRIMA database, MEDLINE, PubMed and MESCAPE from 2003 to 2009. A newspapersearch also was made.Results: we found 78 publications, including regular news websites. Thirty one met theinclusion criteria and all were taken into consideration. The substances most frequentlyinvolved with toxicity were lead, cadmium, phthalates and bronze, which have beenassociated with subtle manifestations or potentially severe disorders. There is acommunity alarm about the way products for children are manufactured and dispensed.Conclusions: there are toxic elements in recreational and educational materialsfor children; therefore adequate quality control is necessary. Children′s health careprograms should promote awareness among community to prevent potential risks.RESUMEN:Introducción: la seguridad ofrecida por los materiales usados para la fabricación dealgunas herramientas destinadas a actividades lúdicas y/o asistencia educativa, puedeque no se controlen adecuadamente. Algunas de las sustancias más frecuentementeimplicadas son los metales pesados como el plomo y el cadmio, presentes en losjuguetes a través del policloruro de vinilo (PVC) también denominado vinilo.Objetivo: realizar revisión temática sobre la toxicidad potencial que pueden generarjuguetes y materiales educativos, e incentivar la génesis de una conciencia entre losprofesionales de la salud, para fomentar la sospecha clínica de patologías secundariasa intoxicación por el uso de juguetes y útiles escolares.Metodología: se examinaron artículos de revisiones de temas, casos clínicos yresultados de consensos, que contemplaron pacientes pediátricos de ambos sexos, enlos cuales se estudió la relación entre sustancias presentes en juguetes y materialeseducativos, con procesos patológicos de tipo tóxico. Se realizó búsq