Put a Cap on Poison Prevention

In a matter of seconds, a child could drink a cup of household cleaner mistaking it for apple juice or eat a hand full of aspirin thinking it was candy.

More than 1 million children were unintentionally poisoned in 1998, and 90 percent of those poisonings occurred in the home.

"Unintentional poisonings are 100 percent preventable," says Dr. Joan Shook, director of the Texas Children's Hospital Emergency Center. "Parents have a substantial impact on this problem. They can start with prevention."

Dr. Shook recommends "poison proofing" a home to prevent unintentional poisonings. All household products should be locked away and out of the reach of children. Potentially poisonous items should never be left unattended while they are in use.

Parents also should lock up any medication in the home, including those of guests, such as visiting grandparents. Child resistant medicine bottle caps are not foolproof, and some adults not accustomed to children may leave medication within a child's reach. Making others aware that the challenge of opening the bottle might become a source of interest or game for the child can prevent an accident from occurring.

"Children also may find it hard to differentiate between a small, red pill and a red M&M," Dr. Shook says. "A parent should never refer to taking medicine as eating candy. They should say that it is medicine to develop a distinction between the two."

In addition, easy access to alcohol and a child's tendency to mimic a parent might lead to alcohol poisoning. Remnants of alcohol in leftover glasses should not be left unattended.

"Children just don't have adult-processing and decision-making skills," Dr. Shook says. "While in most cases the child is treated and sent home, some accidents can be fatal."

- From Texas Children's Hospital

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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