Safe Kids Kansas promotes National Poison Prevention Week

It is natural for children to explore their surroundings, unless they're getting under the kitchen sink or into the medicine cabinet where hazardous chemicals and adult medicines are kept, according to the Safe Kids Kansas organization.

As National Poison Prevention Week -- which continues through Saturday -- approaches, the organization reminds parents to make sure they store hazardous materials such as cleaning products or medication out of their children's reach.

Each year, unintentional poisoning is the cause of death for about 100 children 14 years of age and younger and poison control centers in the United States receive 1.2 million calls as a result of accidental poisoning of children 5 years of age and younger. Nearly 90 percent of these toxic exposures occur in the home, and 56 percent involve non-pharmaceutical products such as cosmetics, cleansers, personal care products, plants, pesticides, art supplies, alcohol and toys.

"It doesn't take much to make a small child sick," Safe Kids Kansas State Director Cherie Sage said. "Almost half of poison exposures for children under the age of 5 are caused by medicine. Children have faster metabolisms than adults and anything they ingest will be absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly."

National Poison Prevention Week is a week nationally designated by Congress since 1961 to highlight the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them. Child-resistant packaging is credited with saving hundreds of children's lives since its introduction in the 1970s.

Still, there is no substitute for active supervision and childproofing, Sage said.

"If a product label says 'keep out of reach of children,' there's a reason," she said. "Keep it up high and in a locked cabinet."

Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents to learn the toll-free poison control center number, (800) 222-1222, to keep the number near every phone in the home, and program it into their cell phones. The number will connect parents to a local poison control center from anywhere in the U.S.

"If a child is choking, having trouble breathing or having a seizure, call 911 instead," Sage said. "Follow the 911 operator's instructions. Do not induce vomiting or give the child any fluid or medication unless directed."

Safe Kids Kansas offers the following additional tips:

* Lock up potential poisons out of sight and reach of kids. This includes makeup, medicine, plants, cleaning products, pesticides, art supplies, baking extracts, and beer, wine and liquor.

* Never leave kids alone with an open container of something they shouldn't ingest. A child can be poisoned in a matter of seconds.

* Don't refer to medicine or vitamins as candy and don't involve children as helpers with medications.

* Choose medicines and products that have child-resistant caps. When giving medicine to children, follow dosage directions carefully.

* Keep products in original containers. Read labels to learn if a product is poisonous and for first-aid information.

* In homes built before 1978, test for lead-based paint and get children tested for lead exposure. Children inhale the dust of lead-based paint and can build up enough lead in their blood to affect intelligence, growth and development.

* Install a carbon monoxide alarm outside every sleeping area and on every level of the home. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that builds up around fuel-burning appliances and cars in garages. It can make a child seriously ill in concentrations that would barely affect an adult.

* Know which plants in and around the home can be poisonous.

* Discuss these precautions with grandparents and caregivers. They may have medications that can be very dangerous to children and their homes might not be childproofed as well.

For more information about poison prevention, call the Poison Control Center and press "3" for the public educator, call Safe Kids Kansas at (785) 296-0351, or visit www.usa.safekids.org.