Poison Prevention: Two P's in a Pod

 1-800-222-1222 is a number every household should know, or at the very least have on the refrigerator. It connects you with Poison Help 24/7/365. What do you call them for? Well, if you are a parent, it might be when your kids are playing Lion King and decide to forage for food in the houseplants. Or when your partner thinks they can get rid of the sniffles quicker by washing down their Nyquil with Alka-Seltzer. Speaking from experience, you don’t really know when or why you will need them, but trust me, you will. Public Health Educator Maryann Barto is with us this month to teach us who and what to look out for. Maryann works in CCHD’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program where she visits the homes of residents (just like you) and helps make them safer. After visiting your home and completing a safety assessment, she can provide you with free education and safety products. Want a visit? Give her a call at 518-565-4870.

Maryann, who should we have our eye on when it comes to accidental poisoning?

Accidental poisoning can happen to anyone. That being said, we should certainly have our eye on younger children such as infants that can get around (i.e. crawling), toddlers, preschoolers, teens, and adults with health issues such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, or mental health issues.

It makes sense that children would make up a majority of calls to poison centers, they get into everything. What sort of things should we be watching for?

Children are quick to grab things. They like to touch, explore, and taste things and don’t know or understand the difference or danger of what they are doing. As adults, we need to always be on the lookout. Many cleaners look like a child’s favorite drink - be aware of where you put cleaners while (and after) cleaning. Some medications look a lot like candies (Red Hots, Tic Tacs, or Smarties), so don’t leave them out where a child can see them. Laundry detergent pods can look and feel fun to a child – they can put it in their mouth or ‘pop’ it and come in contact with the liquid. If a child can put it in their mouth, it has the potential to be a choking and/or poison hazard. 

Some other things that we don’t always think about watching for are cannabis edibles and alcohol. Edibles come in the form of cookies, brownies, gummies, and candy. To children or adults that are unaware, they look just like their favorite treat. A can on the table may look like soda and they may take a drink, unaware it’s a can of beer or hard seltzer. 

What is your advice for prevention? I know we can’t have eyes on our kids 24/7 and they can get into ANYTHING within 10 seconds.

Keep things out of site, locked up, and up high. Get down on the child’s level or line of sight to see what they see and what they may be curious about. Move the items that can be a hazard to them. If it’s not there then they can’t get into it.

Keep hazardous items locked up in a lock box, then put it in a place they don’t know about. You can also use cabinet locks but be watchful, one day they will defeat them! Even so, child safety products will give you a few more seconds to stop the child before ingesting something harmful. Label products as being poisonous and teach children that some things can harm them and they should never touch them. 

We covered accidental poisonings, but is there an intentional poisoning?

Right now, some of the more common intentional poisonings we see are with teens or young adults. This can include ingesting higher amounts of medications than prescribed to achieve a “high” or an attempt at suicide. Other intentional poisonings can stem from vaping or vape products. Internet trends can also lead to accidental poisonings – challenges to eat certain things can cause poisonings and even death. Guardians should always be aware of what substances, and how much, their child is putting into their body.

Now, I would hope as an adult I know enough not to eat houseplants or put cleaning products in my mouth, so how does accidental poisoning happen in adults?

Individuals with health conditions such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other mental health conditions may try to eat things that they shouldn’t, like houseplants, cleaners, or other inedible items. Sometimes people forget if they have taken their medications, and may overdose by taking them more than once. It’s a good idea to control the dosages by only having out the dose that they should be taking that time of day. There are also devices with timers that will dispense only the amount prescribed – limiting a person’s access to the medications.

Top 3 things to remember.

1. Keep things that are a potential poison hazard put away and out of reach.
2. Always have the Poison Control number handy – add it as a contact in your phone!
3. Some things that might be okay for you (in moderation) aren’t for everyone (i.e. cannabis products, medications, alcohol, and vape products).