What do cosmetics, household cleaning supplies, medicines, pesticides, pool chemicals, certain plants, automotive supplies, tobacco products, hobby supplies, and personal care products have in common? Not only can these items be found in nearly everyone’s home, they are all classified as poisons. A poison is anything anyone eats, breathes, or gets on the skin that can cause sickness, injury, or death. When used improperly or in the wrong amount, nearly every product we use has the potential to be poisonous, making the task of poison prevention a difficult one. In fact, poison control centers in the United States handle an average of one poison exposure every 15 seconds.
In an effort to heighten public awareness about preventing accidental poisonings, the week of March 16-22, 2003 has been designated National Poison Prevention Week. Since the vast majority of poisonings are unintentional, they can be prevented. Every year, approximately 4 milllion incidents are reported to poison control centers – of those, 70-75% occur in cases involving children. Young children are especially at risk: over 50% of all poisonings involve children under the age of 6 years.
Because young children are naturally curious and want to emulate the behaviors of the adults in their lives, they are particularly at risk because they do not know the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous substances. Parents often assume they have adequately protected their children by placing hazardous materials high above the child’s reach. However, children are ingenious when it comes to methods of climbing to high places, and more than one child has been known to ingest substances that a parent thought was out of reach. Parents also assume that the safety caps on medications will prevent their child from gaining access. Safety caps are not childproof, they are merely child resistant, which simply means that 80% of four-year-olds cannot open the container. Since most parents believe their child is above average in other areas, they would be wise to assume their child falls within the 20% who do manage to open safety caps. And child safety locks on cabinet doors and drawers only work for a while; most children figure out how to open them eventually. A better solution for parents is to keep all medications and toxic substances in a locked cabinet, with a key hidden in a safe place.
Additional steps also can be taken to reduce the likelihood of a child being poisoned:
never put inedible products in food or drink containers.
limitations.
unless instructed to by a poison control center.
using gloves or other protective clothing, and ventilating the area.
an adult they know.
be more careless.
Most of the time, an adult will not see a child ingest a poison, so adults need to watch for any behavior that seems unusual, such as being sleepy or jittery, or sudden vomiting. Adults should pay attention to strong odors on a child’s breath, or any traces of pills or powders in a child’s mouth or around the lips. Burn marks in or around the mouth might be signs that a caustic substance has been swallowed. And if a child stops breathing, an adult should suspect poisoning may have occurred. If any of these symptoms are present, a poison-control center should be contacted immediately. If the child is unconscious, having seizures, or not breathing, call 911 immediately.
Children are not the only people who are accidentally poisoned. Approximately 30% of all poisonings occur in adults. While bright colors, pleasant scents, and interesting packaging attracts children and encourages them to ingest toxic substances, mot adults are poisoned as a result of mistaken identity (especially among seniors) and misuse. Unintentional poisoning can be prevented by reading and heeding instructions and warnings, putting on eyeglasses and turning on the light when taking a medication, storing all substances in their original containers, never using someone else’s medicine, discarding outdated medicines and products, and never mixing alcohol with medication.
Fortunately, most poisonings can be treated safely at home over the telephone, with the immediate assistance of a poison control center. For poisons that are inhaled, the victim should be moved to some place with fresh air if it can be done safely. If a poison gets on the skin, the contaminated clothing should be removed and the area rinsed with plenty of running water for 15-20 minutes. Similarly, poison in an eye should be flushed with running water for 15-20 minutes. In all situations, it is important to call a poison control center as soon as possible.
Toxic substances that have been swallowed require a little more information in order to successfully treat the victim. If a chemical has been swallowed, drinking a glass of water is advised. If the substance is a medicine, NO liquid should be drunk. Parents should keep a bottle of ipecac syrup and a container of activated charcoal on hand, but NEITHER should be administered unless directed to do so by the poison control center. Ipecac will induce vomiting, but sometimes vomiting can be harmful, such as in the case of poisoning by a substance that burns. Many times, the poison control center will advise administering activated charcoal, which prevents the absorption of many substances into the bloodstream.
KEEP THE PHONE NUMBERS OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER (800-343-2722), THE CLOSEST HOSPITAL, AND THE PHYSICIAN NEXT TO THE TELEPHONE. In Connecticut, the emergency phone number for the Connecticut Poison Control Center is 800-343-2722, 203-679-3457, and 203-679-4346 TDD
For further information about poisoning, contact the American Association of Poison Control Centers, (203) 362-7217, 3201 New Mexico Ave., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. or email the Association at aapcc@poison.org. They also have a web site with related links at http://www.aapcc.org/.