Location is important, especially when it comes to household products
By Jim Jones
Where do you keep your cleaning supplies? If you’re like most of us, you probably said under the sink. What about other household products like insect repellents and flea or tick products? Where you store your household products might seem like a small detail. However, storing cleaning and other products incorrectly could be putting your kids at risk for an accidental poisoning.
Here are some interesting statistics from the American Association of Poison Control Centers:
- Poisoning is our country’s leading cause of injury-related death.
- 91% of poisonings occur at home.
- Exposure to household cleaning products is the second leading cause of pediatric poisonings.
The good news is that most poisonings are preventable. Storing cleaning and other household products out of children’s reach, is one of the easiest things you can do to protect your kids from accidental poisonings.
One of the most common cleaning products kids are exposed to is bleach. In 2014, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported over 15,000 poisoning incidents involving only bleach for kids 12 and under. Making cleaning products inaccessible to kids by simply moving them to a higher shelf or installing safety latches on cabinets where cleaning products are stored could have prevented some of these incidents from occurring.
Here are a few more things you can do every day to prevent poisonings:
- Read the label first. Follow the directions as they are written on the label before using a product.
- Use child-resistant packaging correctly by tightly sealing the container after every use.
- Never put cleaning or other household products in containers that could be mistaken for food or drinks.
When you think of environmental protection you probably don’t automatically associate it with poison prevention. However, an important part of our mission involves ensuring the safety of public health around the country. But we can’t do it alone – we need your help!
Check out more poison prevention tips at http://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/reduce-your-childs-chances-pesticide-poisoning.