Just a few years ago, 66 poison centers in the United States reported over two million poisonings. Two-thirds of those involved children younger than 20 years of age.
The good news: Federal regulations increased the safety of medications and home products by requiring those caps you can't get off easily, which significantly lowered emergency room visits and deaths.
The not-so-good news: Teenagers continue to be admitted to hospitals for poisoning from inappropriate use of medications, such as pain relievers, antidepressants, and street drugs in apparent suicide attempts. And children younger than 12 continue to eat medications and drink poisons such as alcohol and cleaning solutions.
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Children's Hospital in Seattle looked at hospital data for a 10-year period. Results were published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. They urge continued use of child-resistant devices. In other words, don't transfer hazardous stuff to other containers. Use a locked cabinet for household cleaning products and for medications even when children are older. (Make sure grandparents who have multiple medications know this and follow these rules too.)
If a poisoning emergency occurs, call 911. If you suspect a poisoning, call your regional poison control center by contacting the American Association of Poison Control Centers (1-800-222-1222), and post the number by every phone. |
