Every day across the United States, children are treated in emergency rooms for poisonings – almost all of which happen in homes. The following steps can help you prevent a poisoning in your home:

• Never leave small children alone in a room with cleaning, cosmetic, laundry or medical products. All medicine safety tops aren't completely childproof. Some laundry or detergent packets or pods look like candy to young children, so keep these materials out of sight and out of reach.
• Likewise, keep alcohol and tobacco products out of sight and out of reach of children. Whether the alcohol is in beverages or in products such as hand sanitizers and mouthwash, it can cause seizures, coma or even death in a child who ingests it. Any form of nicotine is extremely poisonous to a child who swallows it, whether in cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, nicotine gum, nicotine patches or liquid nicotine for electronic cigarettes.
• Keep medicines, vitamins and herbal remedies out of the reach of children. Many medicines are mildly to highly poisonous. Some medicines can kill a child. These include heart medicine, pain medicine, sedatives, antidepressants, antipsychotics and seizure medicine.
• Be sure you give a child the right dose of the right medicine. The dosage is usually based on the age or weight of the child. Giving too much (overdosing) can cause serious problems. Never give adult medicines to your child unless the dose and the medicine are prescribed by your child's healthcare provider.
• Remove any poisonous plants from your home. These include pothos, caladium, castor bean plant, elephant's ear, philodendron, mistletoe, holly and dieffenbachia. These plants can cause skin irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion and other more serious side effects if a child eats them.
• Make sure you have battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden death. It is found in fumes produced by vehicle engines, furnaces, stoves, lanterns or gas ranges, or by burning charcoal and wood. Change or check the batteries in your carbon monoxide detectors every six months.

Check for Hazards

Check the following places in your home for dangerous products. Make sure these products are stored away from children:

• Garage: antifreeze, windshield cleaner, gasoline, charcoal lighter, pesticides, fertilizers, garden chemicals, fungicides and flea and pest powder.
• Bedrooms: cosmetics, cologne, hair spray, nail polish and remover, mothballs, medicines and vitamins.
• Bathrooms and laundry room: toilet and drain cleaners, bleach, disinfectants, detergents, laundry pods and aerosol sprays.
• Kitchen: button batteries, insect killer, metal polish, alcohol, detergents and oven cleaner.
• Home workshop: solder, lead, cadmium, formaldehyde, solvents, paint and paint thinner.
• Pool: chlorine, shock, pH balancers and algaecide.

Cover Your Bases

Don't rely on just one poison control measure. To be safe:

• Store harmful products out of sight and reach.
• Keep products in their original containers. For instance, never store bleach or other toxic liquids in milk bottles. Don't keep antifreeze in clear sports drink bottles.
• Use products only for their intended purposes.
• In an age-appropriate way, teach your child to leave all household products alone.

In an Emergency

If your child swallows a poison:

• Act fast! Staying calm will help you make good decisions.
• Call 911, your local emergency number or a poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
• Read the label of the swallowed product to Poison Control or a healthcare provider.

Follow the instructions of the healthcare provider exactly. Don't make your child throw up unless instructed otherwise by Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or by a healthcare provider. Vomiting can cause further damage. This is especially true if the child has swallowed lye, detergents, drain cleaners or paint thinners.

Sources:
The StayWell Company, LLC
National Capital Poison Center