National Poison Prevention Week is the Perfect Time to Make Sure Your Home is Safe with These Poison Prevention Tips

During the third week of March we celebrate National Poison Prevention Week, a week set aside to raise awareness to the estimated two million poisonings that are documented annually. This year, National Poison Prevention Week is March 20^th through 26^th, just in time for spring cleaning. With spring making its appearance on day one of National Poison Prevention Week, this is the ideal time to learn how to make your family’s home and indoor air quality safe while you’re cleaning.

Cleaning Products

Lock them up, put them up high, do whatever it takes to ensure little fingers and paws can’t reach your cleaning supplies. You can install child-safety locks on you cabinets and drawers to help keep young ones and animals away, but child-safe does not mean child-proof. Storing cleaning supplies up on a high shelf or in an unreachable cabinet is the best way to help keep your young ones from accessing unsafe chemicals. Always leave the cleaning solutions in the original container with the label unaltered to avoid any mistakes and to make sure you have everything you need in case anything ever does happen. Also, don’t forget to turn on fans and open windows while you clean to keep the chemicals from hanging around in your air.

CAUTION: Natural does not mean non-toxic – treat ALL cleaning solutions with extreme caution.

Medicines

Two key things mentioned about cleaning supplies are also crucial for medicines.

• Natural does not mean non-toxic 

Hyland’s Teething Tablets are homeopathic tablets used to help soothe pain caused by teething. Several parents swear by these pain-fighting tablets to bring relief to their child, but in 2011 a new formula was put on the shelves after the FDA discovered inconsistent amounts of belladonna in the tablets. Belladonna is a toxic plant and eating a small amount of its leaves or berries may be fatal. That being said, this plant is used for many medical purposes – it is in the drops that dilate a person’s eyes, and is used (in combination with other medicinal substances) to treat the flu, stomach ulcers, and Parkinson’s disease. The thing you have to remember is just because it’s natural doesn’t make it non-toxic, and just about anything – found in nature or not – in excessive doses could be life-threatening.

• Just because it is child resistant doesn’t mean it is childproof

Picture it, you’re cooking at the stove and you hear, “Mama, this candy is yucky.” You spin around to find your two-year-old holding your prescription bottle in one hand and a little white pill in the other. Twenty minutes later you’re sitting in the ER trying to figure out how a mother who made all of their baby food from organic vegetables and baby-proofed the entire house while 37 weeks pregnant managed to end up with a medicine bottle, not only within reach of her little one, but where they could actually get it opened. Just because the cap is child-resistant, it doesn’t make it child-proof so keep those medications locked away on a shelf.

Outdoor Chemicals

Even though you keep your bug sprays , fertilizers, and rat poisons outside, doesn’t mean you can leave them unlocked. Keep them on a tall shelf or lock them up in a tool box. If you are spraying chemicals around your home, time it so that it is right before you will be away for awhile to avoid anyone inhaling or getting into the chemicals.

CO Detectors and Appliances

Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs more often than we care to admit and, unfortunately, since there’s no scent and the symptoms are flu-like, it can be too late as soon as we realize what’s occurring. Installing a battery-operated CO detector helps alert you of possible dangers, and having your heating system, water heater, and any other wood, gas, coal, or oil burning appliances properly inspected and maintained by a qualified technician will help detect the danger early or keep dangers away altogether.

Batteries and Magnets

Every toy at the store now seems to make plenty of noise that is powered by batteries. It’s easy to toss them in a drawer since it feels like you’re consistently having to hunt down another AA – but don’t. Batteries are filled with chemicals, and the smaller ones, like AAA or coin batteries, are easy to swallow. During digestion, the shell of the batteries can disintegrate and leak toxic acid into the body.

How to Get Help

If someone in your family should ever ingest any chemicals, medication, or anything you feel is dangerous, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Some people worry that calling Poison Control to notify them of their child ingesting something hazardous could get them in trouble with child protective services, but that isn’t accurate. The Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects all calls to Poison Control and means they are not allowed to share your personal information with police or child protective services. The safety of you and your family is too important, so always call even if you’re unsure.

If you are ever in need of help to make sure your heating appliances are safe, please call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning at 352-414-4006 to schedule an appointment. Have a safe and healthy Poison Prevention Week.

To find out more about poison prevention and learn how you can make you and your family’s home safer, visit http://www.poisonprevention.org/ or try these other resources:

• Poison Help: http://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/index.html
• Poison Prevention Tips: http://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/what-can-you-do/prevention-tips/
• American Association of Poison Control Centers: http://www.aapcc.org/prevention/home/
• Home Safety Council Poison Prevention Checklist: http://www.sanfordnc.net/fire/forms/PoisonChecklist.pdf