Poison Control Experts Work to Prevent Tragedies
CLEVELAND -- Unintentional
poisonings kill an estimated 30 children in the United States every
year. This grim statistic fuels National Poison Prevention Week, a
public awareness campaign to prevent these tragic events. Established
by the U.S. Congress 43 years ago, National Poison Prevention Week is
March 21-27.
Medical experts from Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital staff the
Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center. They are available 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year to offer emergency treatment advice, answer
questions about medicines and products, and provide information about
poisons in the home, outdoors, or at work.
Lawrence Quang, MD, a Rainbow
pediatrician and Medical Director of the Poison Control Center, advises
adults to use medications with child-resistant packaging because it has
been proven to save lives. Dr. Quang warns, "This special packaging is
child-resistant, not child-proof, so you also need to keep medicines
and chemicals locked up."
National Poison Prevention Week is intended to publicize the need for
protecting children under 5 years old from consuming the wrong
medicines or household products or other chemicals. Nationwide, poison
control centers receive more than one million calls each year about
unintentional poisonings of children in that age group.
Michael Reed, Pharm D, a Rainbow pharmacologist and Managing Director
of the Poison Control Center, noted that the theme of the
week-"Children Act Fast...So Do Poisons!"-should alert adults to the
fact that many poisonings occur when adults are momentarily distracted
by a phone call or knock at the door.
"It only takes a few seconds for a child to grab and swallow something
that could be poisonous," Dr. Reed says. "This is why adults must make
sure that household products and chemicals and medicines are stored
away from children at all times, and that they know what to do if kids
swallow something that they are not supposed to."
Poison control experts offer the following poison prevention advice to adults:
1) Lock-up medicine and household chemicals.
2) Contact the new national toll-free number (1-800-222-1222) if a
possible poisoning occurs. This toll free number connects callers to
experts in poison treatment and prevention.
3) Keep medicine and chemicals in their original containers.
4) Leave the original labels on all products, and read the labels before using.
5) Do not put decorative lamps and candles that contain lamp oil where
children can reach them. Lamp oil can be very toxic if ingested by
young children.
6) Always leave the light on when giving or taking medicine. Check the dosage every time.
7) Avoid taking medicine in front of children. Refer to medicine as "medicine," not "candy."
8) Clean out the medicine cabinet periodically and safely dispose of
unneeded and outdated medicines.To contact the nearest poison control
center, call 1-800-222-1222.
|
Posted on Friday, March 05, 2004 (Archive on Friday, March 12, 2004) |
| Return |