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Poison prevention tips

National Poison Prevention Week runs March 18-24

Observe National Poison Prevention Week, March 18-24, by taking stock of the simple things you can do for safety's sake.

Back in the 1960s, the number of deaths each year in the United States from unintentional poisoning was 15 times greater than today. The implementation of child-resistant packaging and educational efforts has contributed to the decrease, yet 85,000 young children visit hospital emergency rooms every year due to poisoning; approximately 30 of them die. More than 50 percent of unintentional poisonings involve children age six or younger; with poisoning the fifth leading cause of accidental death in that age group. Unintentional adult poisonings make up 30 percent of calls to poison centers.

Because 90 percent of all poisonings occur in the home, here are some suggestions from the Consumer Product Safety Commission to reduce the danger:

• Keep medicines, dietary supplements and household products in their original containers with labels intact. Lock them up out of sight and reach of young children.



• Read labels thoroughly before use. Use child-resistant packaging properly by closing the container securely after each use and remember, child-resistant does not mean childproof. Most 2-year olds can open a child-resistant package in 4-5 minutes.



• Be aware that some personal-care items, such as baby oil and mouthwash, can be toxic (mouthwash, for example, contains ethanol).



• Memorize the National Poison Center number, (800) 222-1222. The service is free, confidential and staffed with trained professionals who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The majority of calls to the poison center can be treated over the phone, saving a costly and sometimes traumatic trip to the emergency room. And yes, you can call for assistance with pet poisonings.

More safety tips

For more poison-awareness and safety tips, visit the Washington Poison Center Web site at www.wapc.org and the American Association of Poison Control Centers' Web site at http://aapcc.org.

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