Utah Poison Control Center is housed at the University of Utah They have many resources available online. If you have questions please contact Sherrie Pace at Sherrie.Pace@hsc.utah.edu.
Poison proofing your home is the key to preventing childhood poisonings. In the case of iron-containing pills or any medicine:
- Always close the container as soon as you have finished using it. Properly secure the child-restraint packaging, and put it away immediately in a place where children cannot reach it.
- Keep pills in their original container.
- Keep iron-containing tablets and all medicine out of reach and out of sight of children.
- Never keep medicines on a counter top or beside table.
- Follow medicine label directions carefully to avoid accidental overdoses or missed doses that could result in accidental poisoning.
For other substances, buy the least hazardous products that will serve your purposes. When buying art supplies, for example, look for products that are safe for children. For hazardous products such as gasoline, kerosene, and paint thinners that are often kept on hand indefinitely, buy only as much as you need and safely get rid of what you don’t use. Never transfer these substances to other containers.
People often use cups, soft-drink bottles, or milk cartons to store leftover paint thinner or turpentine. This is a bad idea because children associate cups and bottles with food and drink.
The kitchen and bathroom are the most likely unsafe areas. Medicines should never be stored in the bathroom because a bathroom’s warm, moist environment tends to cause changes or disintegration of the product in these rooms. Any cabinet containing a potentially poisonous item should be locked.
Bathrooms with medicines, kitchens with cleaning products, even cigarette butts left out, can be toxic to kids. Remember that child-resistant caps are child-resistant, not childproof. The legal definition of a child restraint cap is that it takes more than five minutes for 80% of five years old to get into it: that means 20% can get in, in less time! Kids are inventive and can often figure it out. Alcohol can cause drunkenness as well as serious poisoning leading to seizure, coma, and even death in young children. Children are more sensitive to the toxic effects of alcohol than are adults, and it doesn’t take much alcohol to produce such effects. Alcohol-laced products, such as some mouthwashes, after-shave or colognes, can cause the same problems.
After poison proofing your home, prepare for emergencies. Post the number of your regional poison control center (which can be found on the inside cover of the Yellow Pages or in the White Pages of your phone directory) and your doctor by the phone. Keep syrup of ipecac on hand – safety locked away.
Never administer any antidote without first checking with your doctor or poison control center.