The Reality of Poisoning

The Reality of Poisoning

As parents, grandparents, and child-care providers we all want to keep our children safe and secure, allowing them to live their full potential.  Prevention and knowledge of the leading cause of childhood injury; poisoning is a step toward reaching this goal. In the United States, everyday 300 children between the ages 0 to 19 are treated in the emergency department, two children die, as a result of being poisoned. It’s not just the chemicals in our home marked with clear warning labels that can be dangerous to children.

Everyday items in your home, such as household cleaners and medicines, can be poisonous to children as well. Active, curious children will often investigate; sometimes try to eat or drink anything that they can get into. Many household cleaners and medicines look like harmless items; candy, food, juice, or other type of beverage.

Pills look like candy

Cleaning products look like beverages 

Cleaning products look like food

Thankfully, there are ways you can help poison-proof your home and protect the children you love.

Prevention Tips

Lock them up. Keep medicines and toxic products, such as cleaning solutions, in their original packaging where children can’t see or get them.

Know the number. Put the national poison control center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every telephone in your home and program it into your cell phone. Call the poison control center if you think a child has been has been poisoned, they can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 911 if you have a poison emergency, if your child has collapsed or is not breathing.

Read the label. Follow label directions and read all warnings when giving medicines to children.

Don’t keep it if you don’t need it. Safely dispose of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs and over the counter drug, vitamins, and supplements. To dispose of medicines, remove all identifying information, mix them with coffee grounds, kitty litter, soil, and water, and throw them away. You can also turn them in at a local take back program or during National Drug Take Back events.

Video about Carbon Monoxide

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4647177n

This video discusses the silent killer- carbon monoxide. Make sure you have carbon monoxide detectors that work on each floor, especially the floor where the bedrooms are. This is the time of the year everyone starts using their furnaces. Be safe!!!!

Carbon Monoxide

What You Can't See or Smell Can Hurt You

It's winter. John has been feeling "under the weather" all week. He appears to be fine at work, but at home he experiences severe headaches and weakness. He notices that other household members are also ill and his young children are most severely affected. Even the family pet does not seem to feel well. The medication he purchased for the family to relieve their flu-like symptoms did not seem to be working. What could be causing the family's illness?

The source of the family's illness is a kerosene heater which has not been working properly. Malfunctioning gas, oil, and kerosene heaters can release carbon monoxide gas (CO), which presents a serious health threat. CO is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and non-irritating gas. These properties make CO especially dangerous, because it cannot be detected without special testing of the air quality.

When inhaled, CO reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry and the amount of oxygen delivered to all vital organs. The organs at greatest risk of injury are those with the highest requirements for oxygen — the heart and brain. Symptoms of a mild exposure to CO include headache, shortness of breath during mild exertion and fatigue. Continued exposure to CO may result in nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances and difficulty in concentrating. Prolonged exposure and lack of medical treatment may lead to serious and long-term effects and may even be life-threatening. The very young and the very old are most sensitive to the effects of CO.

Some symptoms of CO poisoning, such as, headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue, can be confused with the common flu. However, flu is passed from one family member to another, and usually does not affect everyone in the family at the same time. Symptoms of the flu do not improve after leaving the house; and are usually relieved with proper medication. CO poisoning, on the other hand, will simultaneously produce symptoms in the entire family, including the family pets. Symptoms may improve upon leaving the area of exposure; and are not relieved with medication.

John and his family should immediately go to an emergency room and not return home until the malfunctioning heater has been fixed or replaced. The gas company, oil company or local health authority provides help in identifying and removing sources of CO contamination.

Other sources of CO poisoning include house fires and, occasionally, paint strippers containing methylene chloride.

Sources of Carbon Monoxide

·         Malfunctioning gas, oil or kerosene heater

·         Hot water heaters

·         House fires

·         Occasionally, paint strippers containing methylene chloride

Poison Prevention Tips

Poison Prevention Tips

An interesting fact is most poisoning exposures occur when the product is in use. Here are a few tips to help reduce the chance of a poison exposure in your home or work place.

·         Store all household products and medicines out of reach and sight of small children and pets.
·         Store all medications separately from household products and household chemicals away from food.
·         Always read the label before using and follow the instructions on medicines, cleaners, pesticides, automotive, lawn and garden products for their proper use. Some of the first aid instructions on the product labels are often incorrect or dangerous.
·         Never store potential poisons in containers used for eating and drinking. Store all potential poisons in their original, labeled containers. Leave the original labels on all products.
·         Never refer to medicine as candy to a young child.
·         Attempt to avoid taking medication in front of small children.
·         Turn on a light when taking or giving a medication.
·         When you are using household chemical products and medicine, never let them out of your sight, even if you must take them along when answering the telephone or doorbell.
·         Clean out your medicine cabinet periodically.
·         Use child resistant closures; nothing is really child proof but a deterrent.
·         When in doubt call local Poison Control Center; 1-800-222-1222

The call is a free and confidential service provided by trained health care providers for poison exposures and prevention. The call could save an unnecessary expense of a trip to the emergency room.

Carbon Monoxide

What is carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide or CO is a harmful gas that you cannot see or smell. Carbon monoxide is made when fuels like wood, oil and coal are burned.

You can breathe in carbon monoxide if your appliances or equipment are broken, or if you use them in the wrong way. Some types of equipment that make carbon monoxide are:

§  Fireplaces

§  Furnaces

§  Generators

§  Grills

§  Space heaters

§  Hot water heaters

What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?

You can breathe in carbon monoxide and not even know it. You might feel like you have the flu. You may:

§  Have a headache

§  Feel tired

§  Have trouble breathing

§  Feel sick to your stomach or throw up

A carbon monoxide alarm will let you know if you have too much in your home.

If you breathe in a lot of carbon monoxide, you can get very sick. When you breathe in carbon monoxide, your brain and your heart don’t get enough air. You could:

§  Have a heart attack

§  Have trouble thinking

§  Go into a coma or even die

What can you do?

If you think you have breathed in carbon monoxide:

§  Get to fresh air right away

§  Call 911 or your local fire department

§  Call the poison center at 1-800-222-1222

To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:

§  Put carbon monoxide alarms in your home:

§  Place alarms near bedrooms. Place an alarm on every floor of your home.

§  Read the directions that come with the alarm. They will tell you where to put the alarm, how to use it and how often to check the batteries.

§  Put batteries in all your alarms. If the power goes out, plug-in alarms will not work without batteries.

§  Have a professional set up your furnace, hot water heater or stove. Make an appointment to have a professional check on the furnace once a year.

§  Do not leave your car running in a garage, even with the garage door open.

§  Use outdoor equipment outside, away from windows and doors. Do not use generators, grills, or gas-powered tools indoors or near windows or doors.

§  Use generators safely:

§  Only use your generator outside.

§  Put the generator more than 15 feet away from your house and your neighbors’ houses.

§  Point the exhaust away from houses.

§  To prevent a fire, have an electrician help you choose and set up your generator.

Call local Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222

1-800-222-1222

In the United States every 15 seconds a Poison Control Centers receives a call. The interesting factor is more than half the phone calls are made by an adult taking care of the child, when the child ingests or is exposed to a poisonous substance. The substances can include medicine, household chemical, and pesticides. The Center for Disease Control reports there is approximately 2 million poison exposures in the United States every year, more than 57% of the exposures are children under the age of 6. Approximately 30 children die every year related to accidentally poisonings. For children the most common exposure of household products includes; cleaning substances, medications, cosmetics, personal care products, foreign body ingestion  and plants. A staggering statistic of the majority of accidental poisonings is 90 percent occur in the home.

Children under the age of 6 are very curious and like to explore. It only takes a moment for a small child to find and swallow a poisonous substance. Distractions such as the telephone, doorbell, or cooking something on the stove is more than enough time for a little one to find something to get into. The Poison Control Center is the 9-1-1 for poison emergencies. The national line is toll-free and automatically routes the call to the local Poison Control Center, 1-800-222-1222. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with medical professionals; Registered Nurses, Pharmacists, Physicians, and Poison Information Specialists. It is recommended having the 1-800-222-1222 number posted by the home phone (landline) and saved as a favorite in an individual’s cell phone.

Helpful information to have when calling the Poison Control Center:

• Age of the victim
• Weight of the victim
• Existing health conditions or problems
• Substance or product involved, and the type of exposure-swallowed, inhaled, skin contact, or splashed in eyes. You may be asked to read the label exactly to help provide the necessary treatment recommendations.
• Time the exposure occurred
• Any type of first aid given- washed face, flushed eyes with water. The Poison Control Center does not recommend inducing vomiting; it can make the situation worse.
• Any symptoms the victim may have; vomiting, choking, irritation to skin or eyes
• The location and which hospital is nearest

Not all products are labeled correctly to deal with suspected poisonings. An example may be ingestion of dish soap and the recommendation is to drink several glasses of water. Depending on the size of the person ingesting this product can change the recommendations. Small children do not do well drinking several glasses of water at once and may vomit. Some products do not have warning labels; this does not mean the product is safe for ingestion.  Looking up product information on the internet is not always reliable and providing the correct information, an individual’s best opportunity is to call the Poison Control Center.

Button batteries, harmful for small children, elderly, and pets

Have you ever noticed the amount of toys or products that use those small harmless looking button batteries? Those flat silver discs used in toys like remote control cars, musical greeting cards, bathroom scales, watches, flameless candles and many other types of home electronics. Some are lithium batteries in which pose the greatest potential for harm. There is an average of 3,500 button battery ingestions reported annually to Poison Control Centers. Swallowing batteries is not a new trend for children, elderly adults, or pets to ingest. The concern is over the years is the development of stronger, larger lithium cell batteries, increases the risk of potential severe complications to the individual following the ingestion. Most parents and adults are unaware of the potential for danger from these little items.

Deaths from battery ingestions are rare, per the poison center information there were 10 documented deaths in the past 6 years. Small children, elderly adults, and pets may view the battery as candy, medication, or food. The greatest concern is if the battery gets lodged in the esophagus. The battery has low voltage current that can be completed if it comes in contact with the right environment (a throat or esophagus), and cause severe damage; burns, erosions. One of the physicians from the Journal of Pediatrics did a test, he uses a hot dog and inserted a button battery in it to get an idea how it would react. The hot dog casing is similar to the esophagus of a human; the battery cooked the hot dog.

Possible complications from an ingestion of the battery, is the risk of getting lodged in the vocal cords or esophagus. This can cause serious injury to the vocal cords and digestive tract. Depending on the size of the battery the greater the risk, the larger the battery increase chance for serious injuries. The button battery has popular appeal and the manufacturing industry has shifted towards using this more frequently. Federal safety rules require toys that use the batteries to have a battery compartment that requires the use of screws as a deterrent for access to children. Unfortunately there are not such regulations or rules for devices intended for adult use, bathroom scales, watches, greeting cards, flameless candles or other electronic devices.

Children and pets will find the battery loose and ingest it without an adult even being aware. The common age of ingestion in children is 6. Elderly adults can also be at risk for ingestion of a button battery, thinking its medication when in fact it may be a hearing aid battery. There is a 2 hour window following battery ingestion before symptoms may be observed before complications can occur. Once burning occurs the damage may continue even when the battery has been removed. A majority of the time the ingestions are not witnessed. Children have been able to breathe with a disc battery in the airway; it is not an obvious ingestion and the child will not appear in distress. Children or pets may present with symptoms that are nonspecific; coughing, wheezing, vomiting, drooling, and refusing to eat are possible symptoms. This can be diagnosed as something else such as stomach flu or pneumonia. Information for handling ingestion in children, elderly, and pets is similar.

Tips for battery safety

• Search your home, and any place a child has potential to go for any device or gadget that may use disc lithium batteries
• Secure disc lithium battery controlled devices out of sight and reach of small children. Keep loose batteries locked up or in a safe area.
• Pass the information on to family members, babysitters, friends, and caregivers these important tips.

What to do is a disc battery has been ingested

• Go to a local emergency room immediately.  Inform health care providers of your concern that your child may have ingested a disc battery; if possible provide the identification number found on the battery package.
• Do not let the child eat or drink anything until a chest x-ray is completed to determine if a battery is present.
• Do not induce vomiting

For more information contact:

• National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 202-625-3333
• Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222

Laundry Detergent Pods- a new danger

The newest trend for washing clothes is a detergent “pod”. All the big named manufactures of laundry detergent are developing “Pods”. The convenience and attractiveness of the product is because it is pre-measured, easy to handle, no spills, and the packaging dissolves in the wash to make the task of laundry easier. Unfortunately these convenient pods present a major problem, they are super attractive to small children, the bright colored packet looks like candy and the container looks like a candy jar. The child can view the pod as a toy to be played with or squeezed. The pods can cause a potential risk for the small child that was not foreseen in the process.

Children biting into the detergent pod develop severe vomiting; some children have become unconscious and ended up in the intensive care units. This is not always the case, but the risk is there. The pods contain a concentrated laundry detergent that is very irritated to the eyes, skin, mouth, and throat. Moisture causes the “pod” casing to dissolve, releasing the ingredients into the mouth. The pod breaks and splashes the child in the eye can cause severe eye irritation. The poison control centers have received numerous calls on exposures to these products. Some of the symptoms can be severe requiring hospitalization. Fortunately no children have died from the exposure.

The manufacturers are attempting to make the containers safer for this product safer by adding a safety latch. The recommendation is to keep the product out of reach of children. The responsibility of safe handling and storage falls on the adults in the child’s home as the method of injury prevention.

Prevention:

• Store the container out of reach children
• Make sure the container is closed
• Do not allow children to handle the “pods”
• Educate the child this is not candy or a toy; it is poison

What to do if a child is exposed:

Ingestion:

• Remove the product from the child’s mouth
• Wipe out the child’s mouth with a wet wash cloth
• Wash the child’s face and hands
• Call the poison control center immediately

Eye exposure:

• Rinse the eye gently with luke-warm water for 15 minutes
• Call the poison control center

Silica Gel, Poisonous or Not?

Did you ever wonder what was in those little packets found in new purses, shoe boxes, and other new items? The warnings on the packet are enough to scare anyone; “Do not eat”, “Throw away”. Small children are curious and will put anything in their mouths as they explore their environment, it is how they learn. When my daughter was a toddler these “little packets” were my worst nightmare, the packets were in everything I purchased. I would find one or numerous packets in a new item I had purchased; I would automatically dispose of the packet. As far as I was concerned this product contained some toxic substance made of silicone that would cause immediate death to my child. I would think what are the manufactures thinking? People purchasing these items do not have any small children or health concerns being exposed to this toxic substance. Imagine myself as a new mom carrying these packets with tweezers to the trash as if the item was “red hot or radioactive”; turns out my fears were over played and rather comical at times.

My burning thought was “What is silica gel and why does the package have all the warnings?” Working in the health care, I learned something so simple and how over reactive I was. There are numerous calls to health care providers and poison control centers about ingestions of silica gel packets every day, even trips to the emergency room. A key concept that is missing is the need for education on what silica gel is and how it would be beneficial to everyone know what it is and why the warnings.

What is silica gel? 

Silica gel is a drying agent, which is meant to reduce the humidity in an enclosed space. Silica gel is also known as desiccant packet and is used to preserve the quality of the object inside the packaging. Without these desiccant packets the item could be damaged by humidity or the presence of moisture. The use of silica gel packets started in World War II to keep penicillin dry as it was shipped from location to location in all extremes of weather.  Current uses for silica gel packs can be found in boxes of new shoes, purses, medication bottles, electronics, or other items shipped. The silica gel if made from a form that is similar to sand, silicic acid. Silica gel is used to absorb the moisture in the product to prevent damage to the item in the shipping process.

Silica gel is non-toxic substance that is not poisonous if eaten.

The warnings are on the package mention to “do not eat” for two reasons, 1) it is not a form of food, and 2) it is a choking hazard. The small packet or gels can potentially block the airway of a small child or animal as a choking hazard. The warning mentioning to “throw away” serves as a reminder there is potential for harm to if a small child or animal has access to the product.

Helpful tips for safety with silica gel packets

·         When purchasing a new item such as shoes, purse, or medication remember to look and dispose of silica gel package immediately.

·         Depending on the item purchased there may be multiple packets of silica gel depending on the size of the item.

·         The easiest method to dispose silica gel pack is to break open or cut prior to discarding the packet, thus eliminating the choking hazard.

·         If ingested make sure the child or animal is not choking, provide with a glass of water to drink to clear the particles. Call your local poison control center immediately.

Manufactures are attempting to change the packaging of silica gel packets to reduce the choking hazard.

If you have questions or need further information contact your local poison control center

 1-800-222-1222

Poison danger in the home.

Dangers of accidental poisoning in the home, school, or work is one of the greatest risks for children, pets, or other loved ones. The risk of getting injured increases with the risk of access to the products in the environment, no area is completely child proof. Children have the greatest risks for unintentional poisoning in the home, they are smaller, faster, curious, and more susceptible to the toxins in their home or elsewhere. Children have the natural curiosity and desire to explore increase the potential for harm depending on the environment. A small child learning to climb on chairs demonstrates the risk of exposure to poisons on the counter, cupboards, or closets.

What types of poison do children have a tendency to get into? Most common include household and personal care products, medicine, vitamins, and plants. Other concerns can include lead, carbon monoxide, and other environmental factors. The risk of poisoning to the child depends on the packaging, accessibility, availability, formulation, and the toxicity to the product. The risk of injury decreases with parent awareness, education for prevention and safety, and appropriate interventions by contacting the poison control centers and health providers. The risk of injury decreases with child-resistant packaging, product reformation, and increased parent awareness are key factors for reducing the risk of exposure. 

Changes in health care require the need for prevention to reduce the number of unnecessary trips to the emergency room, urgent care, or health care provider. Health care should focus prevention, illness visits, well child visits, yearly physicals and what can be done to promote the health of the individual. Not everyone is fortunate to have insurance to meet these needs, that is why valuable resources such as the Poison Control Center, Ask a Nurse, and Health Coach can help decrease health care expenses. A visit to the emergency room can cause financial hardship on an individual and family

This blog will focus on providing information and direction on information for prevention of accidental poisoning and resources to parents, health care provider, or other individuals with questions. 

Call your local poison control center- 1-800-222-1222, the national hot line number, it will connect the you directly to your local poison control center based on your area code.

Ask for a free information kit (Lit Kit), magnet, stickers, and informative brochures (poison prevention, toxic plants)

One free tidbit- the poison control center provides free information at no charge to your insurance, the information collected is confidential, and used to help make products safer for our children.