Store dangerous products out of reach – and know where to call

By JIM LIPPERT
Safe Kids Skagit County

Each year about 90,000 kids age 5 and under are treated in emergency rooms for accidental poisoning. About 40 of these children die.

The majority of poisoning incidents take place at home, where we rely on a variety of potentially lethal products every day. These include products for cleaning, personal hygiene, and herbicides and pesticides. These products make our lives easier and serve a purpose, but in the wrong hands, they can kill.

There is no substitute for active supervision and childproofing. If a product label says keep out of reach of children, store the product up high and in a locked cabinet.

March 20-26 is National Poison Prevention Week, an annual program established by Congress in 1961 to spread the message that children act fast — and so do poisons. It doesn’t take much to make a small child sick. Children have faster metabolisms than adults and anything they ingest is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.

Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental injury to children, reminds parents and caregivers to keep the poison control hotline number handy. Memorize and keep this tollfree number, 800-222-1222, beside every phone in your home and program it into your cell phone. The number will connect you to the local poison control center.

You should call 911, not poison control, if a child is choking, having trouble breathing or having a seizure. Do not induce vomiting or give the child any fluid or medication unless directed.

Test for lead

With recent concerns about lead contamination in toys and other products, Safe Kids Worldwide recommends testing for lead in your home. Lead-based paint was used in homes until 1978, so it’s important to have older homes tested.

Kids inhale the dust of lead-based paint and enough lead can build up in their blood to affect intelligence, growth and development. An estimated 890,000 children ages 1 to 5 have too much lead in their bodies.

Caregivers can take other steps to help keep kids safe:
• Install a carbon monoxide detector in every sleeping area.

• Stay alert while using cleaning products or other potentially harmful substances. A child can be poisoned in a matter of seconds by ingesting or contacting a product.

• Don’t refer to medicine or vitamins as candy.

• Store medications and any potentially harmful products in their original containers with their original labeling.

• Learn what plants are poisonous.

• 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.

Discuss these precautions with grandparents and relatives. Let’s keep our children safe.

Jim Lippert is the president of Safe Kids Skagit County, a local coalition of Safe Kids Worldwide led by Skagit County Medic One. Information about Safe Kids is available online at http://www.skagitems. com/safekids.htm.