Shaler EMS HealthNet - Protect Your Child from Poisons in Your Home

Protect Your Child from Poisons in Your Home

What is a poison?

A poison is anything someone eats (ingestion), breathes (inhalation), gets in the eyes (ocular exposure), or on the skin (dermal exposure), that can cause sickness or death if it gets into or on the body. Poisons can be found in four forms: solid, liquid, spray or gas.

What are some dangerous poisons?

Medicines and Vitamins	Household Products	Personal Care Products	Plants	Environmental Poisons
heart, blood pressure drugs	drain cleaners	mouthwash	wild mushrooms	carbon monoxide
tranquilizers	oven cleaners	nail glue remover	dieffenbachia	lead paint
nerve pills	toilet bowl cleaners	permanent wave solutions	philodendron
cough and cold medicines	furniture polish	nail primer	pokeweed
iron	pesticides	hair removal products	foxglove
pain relievers	gasoline, kerosene		holly berries
diabetes medicines	lamp oil		castor bean
	antifreeze, windshield solution

How can I keep children safe from poisons?

Poisons often come in pretty colors and attractive containers. Children may mistake poisons for something good to eat or drink. Follow these safety tips to help keep children poison safe:

Store Poisonous Products Safely

Lock poisonous products and medicines out of the reach and sight of children.
Store poisonous products in their original labeled containers.
Keep medicines, vitamins, and household products in containers with child resistant caps.

Use Poisonous Products Safely

Before using a poisonous product, carefully read the label on the bottle.
While using a poisonous product, never leave it unattended. A child may find it.
After using a poisonous product, put it back in a locked cabinet. Make sure the container is closed tightly.
Never call medicine "candy". Children may eat medicine thinking it is candy.
Do not take or give medicine in front of children, or while another child is watching.
Install carbon monoxide detectors.
Check your house for peeling paint.
Keep the telephone number of your local Poison Center on or near your telephone.

Learn the symptoms of poisoning

If you see an open or spilled bottle of pills or other dangerous product, a child may be poisoned.

An important sign of poisoning is when children who were well develop unusual symptoms:

They're sleepy even though it's not nap time.
They can't follow you with their eyes.
Their eyes go around in circles.
They have burns or stains around the mouth.
Their breath smells strange.

What should I do if I think a child has been poisoned?

Call your local Poison Center right away. Do not wait for the child to look or feel sick! Follow these first-aid steps:

Swallowed Poisons:

Do not give the victim anything to eat or drink before calling the Poison Center or a doctor.
Do not make the child throw-up or give ipecac syrup unless a doctor or the Poison Center tells you to.

Inhaled Poisons:

Get the victim to fresh air right away. Call the Poison Center.

Poisons on the skin:

Remove contaminated clothing and rinse the child's skin with water for 10 minutes. Call the Poison Center.

Poisons in the eye:

Flush the child's eye for 15 minutes using a large cup filled with lukewarm water held 2-4 inches from the eye. Call the Poison Center.

Mr. Yuk Means NO!

Mr. Yuk is the poison warning symbol used by many poison control centers.

Mr. Yuk stickers say NO! to little children who can't read warning labels on dangerous products.

Teach your children that Mr. Yuk means NO! Take your children with you as you place Mr. Yuk stickers on the many dangerous products in your home.

To get Mr. Yuk stickers, call the poison control center. The number is on the first page of the phone book.

The stickers are free.

(Mr. Yuk is used with permission of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.)

Do you have more questions about keeping your child safe from poisons? Ask your doctor.

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Material taken from the Food and Drug Administration and the American Association of Poison Control Centers.