Poison Safety For Kids

In the United States, a child dies once every 3 or 4 days because of poisoning. Poisoning cases involving children take place every 30 seconds, and 9 out of 10 of them happen in someone's home. Many household items can be poisonous if you try to drink them, and kids can be poisoned by grown-up medicine if they take it without an adult present. Poison safety for kids means kids knowing what to stay away from and grown-ups taking proper precautions.

Ways to Prevent Poisoning

Don't ever drink or eat anything out of a bottle you find. Sometimes bottles will be clearly labeled "poison," but other times they won't have anything on them at all. Don't take chances; check with your parent before helping yourself to anything, and don't let any other kids talk you into eating anything unless a grown-up is there and says it's okay. Steer clear of medicine cabinets and other places where poison might be stored, like the garage or under the sink. Always wash your hands when you've played outside; you might have picked up some poisonous plants and you want to wash them off before you eat or drink anything.

What To Do If Someone's Been Poisoned

The best thing you can do if you think someone's been poisoned is to get a grown-up immediately-- either your parents or someone close by. Tell your parents to post the number of a poison center near the phone so that anyone can call it in an emergency. If you can't find a grown-up in the house and there aren't any nearby, call the poison center and ask for help. They may ask you some questions and you should do exactly what they say.

What Grown-Ups Can Do

Grown-ups can prevent poisoning in kids by gathering all the dangerous chemicals in the house--cleansers, paint thinner, insect spray, anything with a poison label on it--and keeping them in a centralized place. They should lock any cabinets containing poisonous chemicals or install child-proof latches so that kids can't get at them. They should never store poisons near food either. The same holds true with grown-up medicine. They should tell their kids not to play with pills, and they should never refer to pills as "candy" or something kids might want to eat. Grown-ups should also store all their medicine in bottles with child-proof safety caps, and lock the medicine cabinet when it isn't in use. They should have ipecac syrup and similar anti-poison remedies in the home in case they need them.

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