CLEVELAND — March 16-22 is National Poison Prevention Week; Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and the Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center want to remind parents and caregivers that children act fast...so do poisons! Poison control centers in the United States receive 1.2 million calls each year as a result of accidental poisoning of children ages 5 and under. Because nine out of ten toxic exposures occur in the home, parents are the first line of defense in protecting their children from poisoning. Parents may think that prescription and over-the-counter medications are the biggest poisoning threat to children, but in fact 60 percent of cases involve non-pharmaceutical products such as cosmetics, cleansers, personal care products, plants, pesticides, art supplies, alcohol and toys.
“It doesn’t take much to make a small child sick,” said Dr. Lawrence Quang, Medical Director of the Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center and pediatric emergency department physician at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, lead agency for the Poison Center. “Kids have faster metabolisms than adults and anything they ingest will be absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly.”
While the U.S. has made great strides since the 1970s in protecting children by mandating child-resistant packaging and banning lead in gasoline and paint, children are still at risk: poisoning exposures lead to 68,000 emergency room visits and more than 50 deaths each year for children ages 5 and under. “There is no substitute for active supervision and childproofing,” said Dr. Quang. “If a product label says ‘keep out of reach of children,’ there’s a reason. Keep it up high and in a locked cabinet.”
The Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center reminds parents to keep the poison control hotline number handy. “Memorize this toll-free number: 800-222-1222,” Dr. Quang said. “Keep it near every phone in your home and program it into your cell phone.” From anywhere in the United States, this number connects to the local poison control center, which can offer emergency treatment advice, answer questions about medicines and products, and provide information about poisons in your home, outdoors, or at work.
“Call 911, not poison control, if a child is choking, having trouble breathing or having a seizure,” said Dr. Quang. “Follow the 911 operator’s instructions. Do not induce vomiting or give the child any fluid or medication unless directed.”
The Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center offers these additional tips:
• Get your home tested for lead. Kids inhale the dust of lead-based paint and can build up enough lead in their blood to affect intelligence, growth and development. Lead-based paint was used in homes until 1978, so it’s important to have older homes tested.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector in every sleeping area. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that builds up around fuel-burning appliances — and cars in garages — and is present in tobacco smoke. It can make a child seriously ill in concentrations that would barely affect an adult.
• Stay alert while using cleaning products or other potentially harmful substances. A child can be poisoned in a matter of seconds. Never leave kids alone with an open container of something you wouldn’t want them to ingest.
• Don’t refer to medicine or vitamins as candy. Children should not think of therapeutic substances as treats. And when you are administering medicine to your children, follow dosage directions carefully.
• Store medications and any potentially harmful products in their original containers with their original labeling, out of reach of children.
• Learn which plants are poisonous. Keep poisonous houseplants out of reach, and teach children not to put any part of an outdoor plant in their mouths without adult supervision.
• Discuss these precautions with grandparents and relatives. Grandparents may have medications that can be very dangerous to children, and their homes might not be as well childproofed as yours.
• Learn CPR. In less than three hours, you can learn effective interventions that can give a fighting chance to a child whose breathing and heartbeat have stopped.
For more information about poison prevention, call 216-983-1107 or visit www.UHhospitals.org.