Poison Prevention

Poison-proof your home and protect the ones you love

Each day more than 300 children are treated in an emergency room department according to the CDC; two of them die. And the offensive material isn’t always a clearly marked as hazardous. It can be typical household cleaners, medicines, alcohol and so forth. Active curious children will investigate; they’ll get into things you never imagined. And eat or drink things you’d never imagine.
The good news is that by preparing now, you can poison-proof your home.

Here are some key steps to take:

Lock them up and out-of-site.

Keep medicines and toxic products, such cleaning solutions and detergent pods, in their original packaging where children can’t see or get them. Sweep your home for toxic items such as bug spray, ant poison, fertilizer, lamp oil, nicotine, alcohol, nail polish, and anything your child could swallow or handle.

Remind guests to keep purses, bags, or coats that have medicines in them up and away and out of sight when they’re in your home.

Get the number on your phone now.

Put the nationwide poison control center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, on every telephone in your home and program it into your cell phone.

Call the poison control center if you think a child has been poisoned but they are awake and alert; they can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Call 911 if you have a poison emergency and your child has collapsed or is not breathing.

Read the label.

Before giving your child any medicine, know their weight and read the label carefully. Read all the warnings and side effects thoroughly.

Call the poison control center if you think a child has been poisoned but they are awake and alert; they can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Call 911 if you have a poison emergency and your child has collapsed or is not breathing.

Throw it away

Safely dispose of any and all unused, unneeded, expired prescriptions and medicines.

How to dispose of medicines:

Read the label. Some especially harmful ones have instructions to immediately flush the medicine or return it to a pharmacy.
Most all other medicines can be disposed at home: Mix the medicines (do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds.
Then, place the mixture in a container such as a zip-lock or sealable plastic bag, and throw the container away in your trash.
Alternatively, some pharmacies have medicine disposal kiosks.
Scratch out all your personal information on the empty medicine packaging to protect your identity and privacy. Throw the packaging away.