Poisons in Your Home

Poison control centers handle approximately 2.4 million incidents every year. That is about one every 13 seconds! And about half of those incidents involve young children.

Poison is anything that causes an unintended effect. Many otherwise ordinary household substances can cause accidental poisoning. After all, young children like to climb, to explore, and they will put anything that looks remotely interesting right into their mouths.

Most of us parents, hopefully, know to keep our cleaning supplies up high or locked up or both. Almost any commercial cleaning aid is poisonous when ingested. But surprisingly, those aren't the biggest hazards.

At the top of the most common accidental poisoning substance list is medication: both prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements. Even adult vitamins can be toxic to small children. Vitamins containing iron can cause a child to vomit blood, cause damage to the liver, and even coma.

Cosmetics and personal care products are another common potentially deadly source of poisons. Did you know that just a few swallows of mouthwash, aftershave, or rubbing alcohol can send a small child into seizures or even cause death, by lowering the blood sugar? Actually, I didn't either. And while it seems so unlikely that my toddler would be attracted to drinking rubbing alcohol, for instance, poison control experts say that young children are impulsive and swallow things without thinking. They aren't yet conditioned to correlating a caustic smell with a bad taste, either.

Oils, such as bath oil, baby oil, and even common lamp oil are another area of danger that I had never considered, either. These oils pose a danger for major gastrointestinal upsets which in severe cases and with a young child, could end up in hospitalization. But if any of the oil gets aspirated into the child's lungs, more serious problems can ensue. One 19-month old little boy from Nebraska spent 13 days in a hospital on a ventilator because he couldn't breathe after swallowing a bottle of clear lamp oil that, to him, probably looked just like bottled water.

Have you ever taken a close look at common medications and household cleaners? Notice how similar a blue sports drink is in appearance to window cleaner. Frightening, isn't it? A handful of over-the-counter adult medications can look just like a handful of Easter candy to a child...and even to an adult in a hurry.

The biggest danger is for children under 2. Their organs and nervous systems are still developing and are very sensitive to chemicals; they swallow larger quantities in proportion to their small body size; so amounts that would have a mild effect on an older child, and almost no effect on an adult, can be toxic, even deadly for a toddler. And it goes without saying that a toddler's impulse control and reasoning abilities are a long way from being developed enough to know what is safe to drink or eat and what isn't.

Honestly, after hearing about the dangers of very common household items in my home, I wondered why both of my daughters would be attracted to drinking bath oil when I can't get them to eat carrots or whole-wheat pasta. But I'm not going to take the chance.

And write this number by your phone: 1-800-222-1222 for poison control. Be prepared to provide the poison specialist with your child's age, weight and symptoms; whether the substance was inhaled, swallowed or on the skin; what the substance was, and the approximate quantity involved.

Poison control specialists urge caregivers not to wait until the child is exhibiting symptoms but to call right away. And do not try to treat it yourself by any of the old methods: syrup of ipecac, or drinking milk. Those methods may actually backfire by making treatment more difficult and aiding absorption of the toxic substance.

Cabinet latches are inexpensive and easy to install, so even those cabinets that I thought were high up enough to deter my persistent toddler are getting locked. Take a look around your home and see how many toxins are lying within easy reach.