Poison

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Disclaimer - Information is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. Any medical decisions should be made in conjunction with your physician. We will not be liable for any complications, injuries or other medical accidents arising from or in connection with, the use of or reliance upon any information on the web.

Emergency

• Emergency Action
• Warning Signs of a Breathing Injury
• Specific Poisonings
• Poison Control Centers 

Who Gets Poisoned
Simple things you can do now to protect your kids from poisons
Protect Yourself from Breathing Household Poisons
Packaging & Storage
Inhalants

• Signs & Symptoms
• How To Help
• Inhalant Information

Grandparents
Sitter's Guide to Prevention
What is Syrup of Ipecac?
National Poison Prevention Week - Mar 20-26, 2005
Resources

Emergency Action for Poisoning

• Age and Weight of the person.
• What was ingested. Have the bottle or container with you.
• How Much was taken. This will help the Poison Center Specialist determine the severity of the incident.
• Time of the poisoning
• How the victim is looking, feeling and acting right now.
• Your Name and Phone number.

Always call, even if you are not sure. Better to be safe! 

Warning signs of a breathing injury:

• trouble breathing (This often happens right after breathing a chemical, but sometimes it can be hours later.)
• chest pain/burning
• coughing
• dizziness
• dry throat
• hoarseness
• runny nose
• sneezing
• sore throat
• wheezing/asthma attack

Specific poisonings:

• Inhaled - Immediately get patient to fresh air. Avoid breathing fumes. Open doors and windows. If victim is not breathing, call for help and start assisted (mouth-to-mouth) breathing. (See Inhalants.)
• Eye - Flood the eye with lukewarm water Repeat for 15 minutes. Encourage patient to blink while flushing the eye. Do not force the eyelid open.
• Swallowed Medicine - Do not give anything by mouth until calling for advice
• Chemical or Household Products - Unless patient is unconscious, having convulsions, or cannot swallow - give a small amount of water. Then call for professional advice to find out if patient should be made to vomit. Do Not induce vomiting unless recommended by your physician or the Poison Center.
• Skin - Remove contaminated clothing and flood skin with water for 15 minutes. Then wash gently with soap and water and rinse.

Poison Control Centers
Poison control centers help millions of people each year, ensuring that poisonings are treated rapidly and correctly. They managed more than 2 million cases in 1996, about 75% of these cases were managed at home over the phone with the help of specialists trained in poison information. Things to remember:

• Always keep the telephone number of the local poison control center on or near each of your telephones. You may have a "special place" for it, but visitors, relatives and sitters need to know, too.
• Locate that phone number right now - Click here: www.aapcc.org/findyour.htm Or Check Front of Yellow Pages for Poison Control Numbers or dial 911. They are located in all fifth states plus Australia, Brazil, Canada and New Zealand. and the website is in 12 different languages: Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, English, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese.
• If you suspect someone has been poisoned, call your local poison control center right away. Do not wait for the person to look or feel sick. The poison control center should be your first source of information in an emergency, even before a doctor or emergency room.
• Feel free to call the poison control center anytime with questions or for advice about preventing a poisoning. They welcome non emergency calls and the opportunity to help you keep your family safe from poisonings. Many centers will send you a magnet or sticker with their phone number.
• Keep a bottle of syrup of Ipecac in your home. Use it only when told to do so by the poison control center. Put it on your shopping list NOW!

Who gets poisoned

• Babies and toddlers. Because of their limited motor skills and the close supervision they receive from parents, young infants have less of a risk of poisoning than their older siblings. But when children are about to celebrate their first birthday, they become mobile enough to open cabinets under sinks and reach objects on counter tops, and they can often open unsecured caps, bring containers to their mouths, and grasp and ingest small objects such as pills. Babies and toddlers are curious and love to put things into their mouths, but they don't know what's poisonous and what's safe to eat.
• Preschoolers. Like toddlers, preschoolers aren't aware of the danger of poisoning, and they are likely to spend increasing amounts of time out of their parents' line of sight and supervision. Various factors--such as motor skills, cognitive ability, and temperament--place some children at a greater risk of poisoning than others.
• School-age children. These children are beginning to develop the ability to recognize danger and to develop self-control, so they are at less of a risk of unintentional poisoning than are younger kids. With this group of children, however, inadequate supervision when the child must take medications can lead to an inadvertent overdose.
• Adolescents. Suicide attempts--by intentionally taking an overdose of medication-- are a risk factor among teenagers, with girls being more likely than boys to take an overdose of pills. Unintentional overdoses are also a risk, because of peer pressure to take drugs, easy access to drugs, and many teens' natural inclination to take risks.
• In the community, factors such as access to drugs can increase a adolescent's risk of death from poisoning. Communities must be on the look out for children at risk for substance abuse or suicide to ensure that they receive early intervention and counseling that could save their lives. (See Teenagers and Inhalants below.)

Simple things you can do now to protect your kids from poisons

• Post the number. Get the phone number for your poison control center, and post it in a place where family members and sitters can find it in an emergency. Tape it to the telephone, post it on the refrigerator, or tack it to the bulletin board. Call the center now to receive helpful advice. Some centers even have phone stickers or magnets displaying this important phone number. If you don't know the number, click here for a directory of numbers for centers across the United States. Fast access to this number could save your child's life.
• Do the flush. Search the medicine cabinets, bathrooms, the kitchen, the garage, and other rooms of your home to find nonessential household products as well as any unusual, unnecessary, or expired drugs you've been meaning to toss out. For example, flush down the toilet those painkillers your doctor prescribed three years ago. For some medicines, even one adult-strength pill can be deadly to a child. Vitamin overdoses can also be serious. Rid your home of these nonessentials right now. Rinse the containers thoroughly. Because most unintentional poisonings involve children younger than two years, childproof your home and supervise your kids closely. Keep medicines, household cleaners and chemicals out of their reach and in locked cabinets. Store products in their proper containers so the directions and warnings apply to the contents. Ask for safety caps on all drugs. Select products in child resistant containers. Return products to safe storage immediately after use. Dispose of potential poisons (such as cleaners or medicine) when they are no longer needed. Some materials such as crystal or granular drain cleaners are so highly toxic that parents of small children should avoid keeping them in the home at all. Use devices such as safety latches or locked cabinets to prevent child access, even if the products inside the cabinet are in child resistant containers. In giving medicine, always measure does - don't guess. Never tell children that medicine is candy. Never take medicine in front of children. They often imitate adults. Store products away from food. And, don't turn you back on a child when a product is within reach, if the phone or doorbell rings, take the child or the product with you.
• Do the Crawl. Get down on your hands and knees and crawl every place your children go, including inside your closets, so that you can see every nook and cranny from their point of view. You'll be surprised what you may find--that free sample of dishwashing detergent that rolled under the kitchen hutch, Grandma's heart pills stuck between the sofa cushions, and the old jug of drain cleaner lurking in your bathroom closet. Check your entire home regularly to make sure that all poisons are not just out of sight and out of reach (kids can open doors and climb on counters), but secured well in a cabinet with a lock or safety latch.
  

Protect yourself from breathing household poisons

2. Never sniff containers to discover what is inside. Breathing chemical fumes or sprays can hurt you. Thousands of people are poisoned each year by the incorrect use of products found in the house, basement, garage and garden. Many of these products can also irritate the skin and eyes and some can go through the skin into the body. Breathing too much of these is dangerous:

• adhesive
• carburetor cleaner
• drain cleaner
• furniture polish
• glue
• hair permanent and straightener
• nail glue and polish remover
• oven cleaner
• opaquing (correction) fluid
• paint solvent, thinner, and stripper
• photographic and copying chemical
• pool acid and chlorine
• silver and other metal polishes
• waterproofing sprays

3. Using pesticides in the wrong way: Misuse or overuse of bug sprays or other pesticides can expose you to harmful chemicals. It is very important to carefully read and follow the directions on the label. An insecticide fogger (or "bomb") can be a special problem. It comes in an aerosol can which releases its spray for several hours. As soon as a fogger is set off, everyone should leave. Take pets (and fish tanks) with you. The exact amount of time to stay out is usually on the label-it can be up to 12 hours or more. Upon reentering, open windows immediately to air out the house. Do Not use the fogger as a hand held spray.

4. Read labels and follow directions carefully.

• Turn on fans and open windows wide when using products.
• Limit the amount of time you are using products that give off fumes.
• Wear gloves and clothing to protect your skin.
• More isn't always better. Use no more than you need to do a job.
• Never bring products home from work. They are usually stronger and more poisonous, and are not intended for home use.
• Thoroughly clean any area after using anything that may be poisonous.
• Before using a spray, be sure that the nozzle is pointed away from you.
• Tightly close containers after use to prevent release of fumes.
• Keep all household products in their original labeled containers. Never reuse product containers for anything else.
• Never sniff containers to discover what is inside.
• Completely rinse off the first product before applying a second product.

5. Know the names of all your plants and which ones are poisonous.

• Keep all plants out of the reach of small children.
• Teach children not to put any part of plants in their mouths.

Packaging and Storage

• Always store medication and household products in original packaging and locked away out of the reach and sight of children.
• Buy medicine and household products in child-resistant packaging.
• Never put inedible products in food or drink containers.
• Do not remove child-safety caps from medicines and vitamins. Always make sure that caps are on tight.
  

Signs & Symptoms of Someone Who Has Used an Inhalant

• a red or runny nose
• sores or a rash around the nose and mouth
• a chronic cough and/or shortness of breath
• nausea, vomiting and severe headaches
• sudden memory loss or lack of concentration
• hallucinations or blacking out
• a chemical smell on breath or clothes
• paint stains on clothing, towels and/or skin
• soda, cans, rags or sandwich bags with a chemical odor
• slurred speech, hearing loss, diminished sense of smell and/or limb spasms
• red, irritated eyes
• sudden weight loss
• extreme mood swings.
  

How To Help:  In an emergency, a few simple steps can save a life:

• don't leave the person alone
• call 911 immediately
• for additional treatment instructions, call Poison Control (check you local phone book now and write down the number, or call 411)
• don't startle or excite anyone under the influence of inhalants. They may experience hallucinations or increased aggression and shock or over stimulation can trigger cardiac arrest
• provide adequate ventilation
  

Inhalant Info:  Don't wait - if you or someone you know needs help, talk to parents, teachers, or a doctor. The following organizations offer counseling referrals, free brochures and more:

• American Association of Poison Control Centers - A 24/7 poison hotline 800.222.1222. Also, www.aapcc.org/findyour.htm or www.1-800-222-1222.info
• American Council for Drug Education, 800.488.DRUG www.acde.org
• Eden Children and Family Services, 612.338.2158
• National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, 800.729.6686 www.health.org
• National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Referral Routing Service, 800.662.HELP
• National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, 800.269.4237 www.inhalants.org
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, www.cpsc.gov

If you would never consider playing Russian roulette with a bullet in every chamber, don't play it with inhalants. And, if you're a parent, wake-up!  Talk to your children about the dangers and side effects and lock up toxic household products that can be used as an inhalant. Don't put it off. This is one talk you don't want to wait on. You might be a day too late. Just do it!

Grandparents

• Do you use any prescription or over-the counter medicines? Did you know that one third of the poisonings reported among children under age six are from prescription drugs commonly used by older adults high blood pressure pills, heart medicines etc.)? In fact, many childhood poisoning deaths result from eating grandparents medications. This happens at both the child’s home and the grandparents’ home.
• Do you leave medicines out on your bedside table?
• Do you leave the tops off of the bottles?
• Do you avoid using child resistant caps? Use them!
• Do you carry your medicines in your purse or pockets (popular places for little ones to explore)?
• If the answer is yes to any of the above, your grandchild may be in danger. Please consider these suggestions:
• Take medicines out of the container only when using them.
• Use child resistant caps whenever possible. Ask the pharmacist to open and close the cap several times before giving it to you. This will help for later openings.
• Keep your medicine out of reach, out of sight, and locked up.
• Protect your grandchildren from toxic household products and plants. Child proof your home.
• Purchase Syrup of Ipecac (a substance that causes vomiting) from your local pharmacy. Keep it locked up like any medicine, but use it only if advised to do so by the Poison Center.
• Never call medicine, "candy".

Remember that child resistant does not mean child proof, but it does help prevent many poisonings. However, even with precautions, poisonings sometimes happen. You can then call for help from the 24 hour free hotline at the Poison Center at 1-800-876-4766 or TTY 1-800-972-3323 (for speech and hearing impaired only).

Sitter's Guide to Poison Prevention

• Know where the children are at all times and what they are doing; if they are very quiet, check on them immediately.
• Anticipate the child's curiosity and abilities according to age and developmental skills.
• Make sure counters in kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms are free of possible poisons.
• Don't let the child get hungry. He or she is more likely to try to find something to eat and may choose the wrong thing.
• Be alert for a repeat poisoning. A child who has swallowed a poison is more likely to become poisoned again within a year.
• Do not leave your purse, handbag or backpack where a child can reach it. Store in a safe place. Cosmetics, perfumes, medications, and vitamins are common contents that could poison a child. If you use a poisonous product, put it away immediately.
• Never call medicine "candy" in order to get a child to take it.
• Be sure there is syrup of Ipecac on hand in case of accidental poisoning. Ask your employer to get some if not on hand already.
• When you call the California Poison Control System, take the container and the child to the phone with you.

The Poison Specialist will ask you these questions:

• Your name and phone number
• The name of the child
• Your relationship to the child
• Age and weight of the child
• Determine how much was ingested.
• Describe what happened and the name of the product
• Time of poisoning
• How does the child look and feel now

Always call, even if you are not sure. Better to be safe.

What is Syrup of Ipecac?

• Use Only As Directed by a Physician or the Poison Control Center.
• Never give ipecac after swallowing drain or oven cleaner, gasoline, turpentine, furniture polish, bleach or detergent.
• Do Not give to babies under one year old.
• Age 1-12: give one tablespoon (1/2 ounce).
• Over 12: give whole one-ounce bottle. Follow with one glass of water. If vomiting has not occurred within 30 minutes call the Poison Center or physician again for further advice.
• Available in 1-ounce bottles at drugstores, without a prescription. Cost: about $2.00.

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Of the 5 million poisonings that happen each year, 53% happen to children under 6.

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