Getting Well Carson City: Home Poison Prevention: What Steps Can I Take to Protect My Family?

By Kandis Harvey Carson City Health and Social Services

As of Friday, March 26, 2021

As reported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, someone calls a poison control center every 12 seconds for help.
Any substance can be toxic if used incorrectly, in the wrong amount, or consumed by the wrong person. According to the National Poison Data System Bulletin, 90 percent of poison exposures occur at home each year. Poisoning and poison can be caused by a variety of dangerous or potentially dangerous substances. These substances include, but are not limited to, hand sanitizers, cleaning products, pesticides, over-the-counter drugs, and prescription drugs.
Preparation, prevention, and protection are the best ways to avoid a toxic accident in your home. Preparing for a poison emergency can seem overwhelming, but it's as easy as entering the Poison helpline number on your cell phone or putting it on your home refrigerator. Calling 1-800-222-1222 may be the fastest way to get answers in an emergency.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a large percentage of people use or have easy access to hand sanitizer. Although hand sanitizer, like any potentially dangerous substance, has been recommended as a relief measure during the pandemic, hand sanitizer can be dangerous if used improperly.
According to the NPDS Bulletin, cases of hand sanitizer exposure increased by 45% (January 1 to February 7) compared to the same period last year. Most of the reported cases were between newborns and 5 years of age. While this percentage may seem frightening, only 3% of these exposures had significant effects on people with no exposure that resulted in death. Hand sanitizer isn't the only household item that can be misused and harm family members.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers offers several home safety tips to help protect your loved ones from poisoning.
Adopt Safe Storage Habits: Keep items such as medicines, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, alcohol, laundry and cleaning products, pesticides, insect repellants, batteries, garage chemicals, and personal care products in their original container and cabinet insurance.
Read and Follow Labels and Instructions: Make a habit of checking labels of potentially hazardous substances or products before using them.
Detect invisible threats by installing carbon monoxide detectors.
Food Preparation Safely: Practice preparing and handling food safely to avoid food poisoning. Prepare food in a clean and hygienic environment, keep raw animals, eggs and vegetables separate during preparation, cook food thoroughly with a thermometer to check the correct cooking temperatures, refrigerate food, leftovers quickly and consume inside from 3 to 4 days.
While most common household items like hand sanitizer are considered necessary and protective, always remember to follow the safest protocols when handling potentially hazardous materials to stop a poisoning emergency.
After reading this article, can you imagine potentially dangerous substances in the home that are not in a safe place? What changes can you make at home to avoid a toxic emergency? For more tips and information, contact your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
Carson City Health & Human Services is encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to review your steps at home and avoid any poisoning emergencies. For resources and information on departmental programs and services, visit our website at www.gethealthycarsoncity.org , follow us on Twitter @CCHealthEd, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cchhs , follow us on Instagram @ gethealthycarsoncity, call us at (775) 887-2190 or visit us at 900 East Long St. in Carson City.

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