Poisons in Your Home
This information is about poisons in your home. It covers some common poisons and how to keep your children safe from them.
Almost all homes contain substances that can poison children; and children have been known to experiment with all of them, no matter how unlikely they are or how awful they taste.
Many household products like furniture polish, bleach, and caustic cleaning compounds such as lye, must be locked away or stored well out of reach of small children. Children also get into poisons in the garage: gasoline, kerosene, and paint thinner; insect powders and sprays, and ant and roach killers.
Also, children are often poisoned by common non-prescription drugs. Some are old-fashioned remedies that are still kept around, even though they’re not medically recommended. For example, boric acid is no more effective as an eyewash than plain water with a touch of salt dissolved in it. But boric acid is poisonous if swallowed or absorbed through the skin.
Liniments containing oil of wintergreen are poisonous and their minty smell makes them attractive to children. Camphorated oil and ammoniated mercury ointment both have long histories of poisoning children. If you have one of these items in your medicine chest, throw it out.
Other non-prescription drugs are useful — but they can still be poisonous to children. For example, aspirin is the leading cause of accidental drug poisoning for children in this country. Formerly, it was available in flavors to make it attractive to children. If you still have some of this flavored aspirin, discard it. You should know that today, aspirin is considered unsafe for all children under 19, because of the possibility of a serious condition called Reye’s Syndrome. Instead, children should be given only non-aspirin pain relievers. If you choose to use aspirin products yourself, keep them in a childproof container and well out of reach.
Iron tablets are also useful, but even a small amount is dangerous to children. They are doubly dangerous because they are often pleasantly flavored and sold in large quantities.
Of course, prescription medicines should be kept away from children. Even if you keep prescriptions in a locked medicine chest, what about your purse? Curious little children often play with their mothers’ purses, and will eat the medicines they may find there.
Here are some steps to take to poison-proof your home. First, collect and secure all cleaning, painting, and insect control substances. Hiding them under the kitchen sink or in the garage is not enough. If possible, lock them up. Next, get rid of useless drugs and home remedies. For useful drugs and prescriptions, make sure the containers are truly childproof. Keep all drugs in a single, locked place. Don’t leave them on the dresser or kitchen table. And remember, don’t leave your purse unattended.
Some children with chronic problems such as allergies take medications often. When the your child repeatedly complains of a stuffy nose, you may want to say, “All right, go take an Actifed.” Don’t do this. Instead, you give the child appropriate medication. Reinforce the idea that only Mom or Dad can give medicine at home. Children must never take medicine by themselves.
Finally, you should know what to do if your child has swallowed something hazardous.
First, call your local Poison Emergency Center or other emergency information service for help. When calling; be prepared to describe what was swallowed. To make this possible, be sure all prescription labels include the name of that particular drug. To treat a case of poisoning, the doctor must know what the substance is.
Second, begin treatment as soon as possible. Do not try to get the child to vomit if you do not know what the child had swallowed. Call the Poison Center for instructions. In the case ofhousehold products, the label usually includes instructions for what to do if swallowed.
Remember these key points:
- Poison-proof your house – collect and lock up all household cleaners, solvents, and insect poisons; throw away useless non-prescription drugs. Store other drugs only in childproof containers, and lock them up, if possible.
- If a child is poisoned, call your Poison Control Center at once or dial 911. Describe the “poison” and begin recommended treatment quickly.
