Chapter 5: Preventing and Treating Poisoning in the Home

When a home is child proofed poisonous items are usually not in the children’s reach or access. Sometimes poisoning happens by accident but preparation is key to safety. Sometimes even with preparation a poisoning can happen. It is important to know what to do when a situation like this happens. Take time to teach children about poisons so they know what not to eat or drink. Make sure the children are old enough to understand younger children tend to be curious and may not get what you mean. If you want safety training take a first aid or CPR class so you know what to do if a child stops breathing or has heart trouble due to ingestion of a poison.

If a child does ingest poison by eating, inhaling, or any other method make sure to call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 and they will be able to offer advice on what should be done to treat the toxins in the body. They might suggest going to a hospital for some poisons. If you are asked to take your child to the hospital you should call 9-1-1 and make sure the child can be taken quickly to the hospital by ambulance. Keep in mind how severe the situation is if the person is coherent and seems alright call poison control. If the person is incoherent and is having difficulty breathing, heart rate is off, or any other life threatening symptoms call 9-1-1 and not Poison Control.

Poisons also include gases that one may not be able to control in a home. If you use gas for electricity make sure to check every so often to make sure the house does not have Carbon Monoxide poisoning. You might also want a detector for Carbon Monoxide so that you and your family know when there is something wrong. If there is any Carbon Monoxide in your house and the alarm were to sound make sure to call your emergency services and leave the house, as well.

Another concern is liquids and pills that can cause poisoning if a child got into them and ingested them. Make sure to lock away any medicines, cleaning products, and alcohol related products, any beauty products, and anything else that would be toxic to ingest. Once all of that is put away make sure that the items are also hard for the child to reach. Children can sometimes break locks so make sure it is not just a matter of the item being locked but being where the child cannot reach.

Even with preventative measures children can still sometimes manage to ingest poisons. Not everywhere they will go will be as safety proofed as your own home. Make sure to teach your children about why poison is not good for them and why they should not ingest it. If they are elsewhere make sure they are supervised. If a poisoning occurs call 9-1-1 or Poison Control to make sure the child is treated.