University of California's Spanish Broadcast and Media Services
Young children
will eat and drink almost anything. Victims of accidental poisoning
are usually children under the age of 5. Household cleaners and
medicines are common causes of most accidents.
When
using household cleaners or medicines, never let them out of
your sight, even if you must take them with you to answer the
telephone or doorbell. Children act fast. It takes only a moment for
them to swallow something.
The
most common "poisons"are:
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household cleaners,
medicines
and vitamins,including cough and cold preparations, pain
medication,and iron tablets
indoor
house plants
cosmetics
pesticides
kerosene,
gasoline, furniture polish, lighter fluid, and many others.
TIPS TO
PROTECT YOUR CHILD:
- Do
not keep medicines and household cleaners on kitchen
counters or bathroom surfaces.If possible, lock them up
when not in use.
- Store
all household cleaners away from food.
- Use
child-resistant packaging for medicines and household
cleaners. Close the container securely after use.
- Avoid
taking medicines in front of children. Children tend to
imitate grown-ups.
- Throw
away medicines by flushing them down the toilet. Then
rinse the container. Do not throw them in a waste-basket where
children can find them.
- Keep
products in their original containers. Leave the original
labels on all products.
- Do
not store chemicals in containers that normally hold
food.
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Be sure
to keep all emergency numbers near the phone. Include your doctor
and the Poison Control Center phone numbers. Also keep your name,
address and phone number near the phone in case a babysitter
or a friend needs to call.
Contact
your local Poison Control Center for more information
Disclaimer and Reproduction Information: Information
in NASD does not represent NIOSH policy. Information included
in NASD appears by permission of the author and/or copyright
holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
material is based upon work supported by the Extension Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, under special project number
91-ESPN-1-5169 .
Produced
by the University of California's Spanish Broadcast and Media
Services, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Myriam
Grajales-Hall, coordinator.
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