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.

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.