National Poison Prevention Week highlights how to keep kids safe at home
Emergency room doctors say there’s a long list of potentially poisonous items in households.
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National Poison Prevention Week provides the opportunity to highlight items in many homes that can be attractive and dangerous to children.
“A lot of young kids in particular like to explore the world with their mouth,” said Dr. Maneesh Agarwal, of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
That leads to accidental ingestion of dangerous things like batteries, electronics, THC gummies and detergent pods.
Emergency room doctors say there’s a long list of potentially poisonous items in households.
“I see children in the emergency department who have gotten into something potentially dangerous on a regular basis,” says Dr. Agarwal.
U.S. poison centers responded to 2.4 million cases based on the latest data from 2023.
That’s an average of one new case every 15 seconds.
To keep kids safe, doctors say to store and secure potentially poisonous items up and away from little hands which include:
Cleaning supplies
Button batteries
Craft supplies
THC or Delta-8 Gummies
Liquid medicines
Laundry pods
Motor oil
Prescription medications.
Doctors recommend that you always store the poison control number in your phone which is 1-800-222-1222.
If you suspect your child has ingested something dangerous to make sure they don’t have any more of it and contact your local poison control center for help.
However, if a cleaning product or a similar hazardous product is ingested, contact the emergency services immediately.
