With three little boys at home, I feel strongly about doing what I can to keep them safe. So, I was happy to partner with Safe Kids WorldWide during Poison Prevention Week to share some expert tips on keeping kids safe around medicine (and other potentially poisonous household substances). Now, before you read any further or we go into any tips, I urge you to do something right now…it will only take a quick second, I promise! Enter the number for Poison Control in your phone!! 1-800-222-1222 (I’ll wait. 😉 Really, please do it now so you don’t forget. Are you done? Okay…we’ll continue!…)
Have you ever had a poison emergency at your house? I’ve called Poison Control once (so far 😉 ). It was when Big Brother was just starting to “toddle”. We had a small ant bait trap thing in the corner of the kitchen. We didn’t think he could get to it, but he did. I walked in the kitchen to find him playing in the liquid out of the ant bait trap and it was all over his hands. He was acting fine, but I was definitely concerned. So, I called Poison Control. They were great! And, he was fine! Just like 9-1-1, the service is there for an important reason so make sure you have the number in your phone (and visible someplace for babysitters) and use it if you are ever concerned!!
There are SO many toxic substances in and around your house that are so easy to forget about or get complacent about. Household cleaners, bathroom products (soaps, makeup, nail polish, nail polish remover, peroxide, etc), even plants! Here in Arizona, one of the most poisonous plants in the world actually is in MANY people’s yards and parks… Oleander! Ingesting the Oleander leaves & flowers can actually be deadly! Scary stuff! But, actually, one of the most common causes of accidental poisoning in children comes from medicines! In fact, 500,000 times each year a child gets into medicine or receives an incorrect dose. And every 8 minutes, a child is treated at an emergency room for accidental medicine poisoning! So, here are some expert tips to help keep your kids safe:
Tips To Keep Kids Safe Around Medicine:
- Put all medicine and vitamins up and away out of children’s reach.
- Even if you are tempted to keep medicine handy, put it away after every use.
- Look around your home for items you may not think of as medicine, such as rubbing alcohol, gummy vitamins and eye drops. Store these up and away from children.
- When you have guests in your home, offer to put their purses, bags and coats away out of the reach of children. (In 43% of ER visits for medicine poisoning, the child got into a relative’s medication.)
- Be alert to medicines in the area your child visits. Make sure medications are put up and away.
- Program the Nationwide Poison Control Center number into your phone: 1-800-222-1222.
Visit SafeKids.org for more tips on safe storage, safe dosing and safe disposal of medications. 
We all know how fast kids can get into things when you’re not looking for just one second! And, let’s face it, a lot of medicine looks really enticing to kids. Children’s Tylenol and Motrin is fun colored and could easily look like “juice” to a little one. Then, how about all those little pills? They look just like candy! Kids don’t know the difference between a regular gummy bear and a gummy bear vitamin. Here’s a quick video that illustrates that!
Safe Storage, Safe Dosage, Safe Kids!
For more information on this topic or any others about kid safety, be sure to follow Safe Kids USA on Facebook or follow @SafeKidsUSA on Twitter!
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Safe Kids Worldwide and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
One Response
Thank you so very much for this post. I had my cell phone next to me while reading this and the number is now saved! We are in the process of making our home child safe and this post was perfect timing.