How to Prevent Poisoning

Do you know how to prevent a poisoning?

Poison-proof your home
More than 70 percent of all poisoning accidents in the United States occur with children under the age of five. Each year, two million children will swallow a poison.

These accidents are often the result of two factors -

1. Children are curious and will eat or drink almost anything--even if it doesn't taste good.
2. Adults are not careful how they store and handle potentially dangerous household products and medicines.

Poisonings can happen anywhere
but most often occur in the kitchen or bathroom, even when a parent is in the room. They can also happen in a bedroom where pills are left on a bedside table.

And at any time,
especially near mealtime, and when the family's normal routine changes - vacations, moving, illness, etc.

What you can do to protect your family
Medicines

• Use only child-resistant caps.
• Keep locked in cabinets.
• Return to safe storage immediately after use.
• Always measure doses, don't guess.
• Never tell children medicine is "candy."
• Keep all purses out of your child's reach. They may contain medicine or other items that could harm a child.
• Get rid of out-dated medicines. Flush them down the toilet. Rinse the container thoroughly.

Househood Products

• Select products with child-resistant caps.
• Keep locked in cabinets.
• Return to safe storage immediately after use.
• Store household products and food in separate areas.
• Keep products in original containers.
• Don't store household products in food or drink containers.
• Don't turn your back on a child when a product is within reach. If the telephone or doorbell rings, take your child with you.

Plants

• Know the names of all the plants in your home and yard.
• Know which ones are poisonous.
• Keep all plants out of the reach of small children.
• Teach children not to put any part of a plant in their mouth.

Lock them up or throw them away
In the kitchen

Ammonia

Carpet and upholstery cleaners

Cleaning fluids

Cleanswers and scouring powders

Drain cleaners

Furniture polish

Metal cleaners

Oven cleaners

Powder and liquid detergents

Rust removers

Vitamins

In the bedroom

Cologne/perfume

Cosmetics

Chemotherapy medications

Other medications

In the bathroom

Aftershave

Bath oil

Deodorant

Hair dyes

Hair remover

Nail polish and remover

Permanent wave solutions

Room deodorizer

Rubbing alcohol

Shampoos

Shaving lotions

Toilet bowl cleansers

In the laundry room

Bleach

Bluing, dyes

Disinfectants

Powder or liquid detergents

Stain removers

Miscellaneous

Alcoholic beverages

Cigarettes

Cigarette lighters

Moth balls and sprays

Rat, mouse and ant poison

Batteries

Flaking or dried lead-based paint

In the garage/workshop

Antifreeze

Arts and crafts supplies

Adhesives/glue

Fertilizer

Gasoline and oil

Kerosene

Lighter fluid

Lime, cements, mortar

Paint, remover and thinner

Pesticides/garden sprays

Turpentine

Windshield cleaner

Weedkiller/fertilizer

Disposal of toxic household products
Most medications can be flushed down the toilet.

Certain household products can be poured down the drain and diluted with lots of water.

Contact your Health Department or local landfill to determine which products may safely be put out with the trash and which products demand proper disposal methods.

Source : http://www.medi-smart.com/emer_asthma.htm

What to Do if Someone Is Poisoned

Do you know what to do if someone is poisoned?

Emergency action steps

1. Remain calm.
2. Don't delay seeking advice.
3. Remove the poison from contact with eyes, skin, or mouth.

If poison made contact with eyes:

• Gently wash eyes with lukewarm tap water for at least 15 minutes.
• Have the person blink as much as possible while flooding the eye.
• Do not allow person to rub the affected eye(s).

If poison made contact with skin:

• Remove contaminated clothing.
• Wash the poison from the skin with large volumes of water for 15 minutes.

If poison made contact with the mouth:

• Remove all tablets, powder, plants, etc., from the mouth.
• Examine the mouth for any burns, cuts, irritation or unusual coloring.

If poison is inhaled:

• Immediately get the person to fresh air.
• Avoid breathing the fumes.
• Open all doors and windows.
• If the person is not breathing, begin artificial respiration.

If poison is swallowed:

• Do NOT give anything by mouth until calling for advice at 1-800-222-1222.
• For chemical or household products - unless the patient is unconscious, having convulsions or cannot swallow - give milk or water immediately.
• Call for professional advice about whether or not to make the person vomit.

The next steps
Once you have taken the first emergency steps, call your doctor

Don't hesitate to call the Poison Center. It is your first line defense against injury. If you are unsure what poison the patient has come into contact with, contact the Poison Center for guidance.

When you call, provide your doctor or the Poison Center with as much information as possible:

• Identify yourself and the person who came in contact with poison.
• Give your telephone number so you can be reached if your call is accidentally disconnected.
• Give the approximate age and weight of the person who came in contact with the poison.
• If possible, have the poison container available so you can read the label to your doctor or the Poison Center.
• Estimate how much poison was taken.

Your doctor or the Poison Center will tell you what steps to take next.

Again, remain calm, but don't delay seeking advice. There is time to act.

To induce vomiting
If your doctor or the Poison Center indicates you should induce vomiting in the person who swallowed poison, use the prescribed amount of Syrup of IPECAC.

Dosage:

Children one year of age or less - two teaspoons (10 ml).

Children one year of age and older - one Tablespoon (15 ml).

Adults - two Tablespoons (30 ml).

Give the appropriate dose of Syrup of IPECAC with a glass of water or a favorite drink.

If the patient hasn't vomited in 15 minutes, give another dose of Syprup of IPECAC and another glass of liquid.

Don't waste time trying other ways to induce vomiting.

• Tickling the back of the throat is ineffective.
• Do NOT use salt water. It is ineffective and potentially dangerous.

Never induce vomiting if:

• The person is unconscious.
• The person is having a convulsion.
• A caustic substance (strong acid or alkali) was swallowed.
• A petroleum-based product (gas, lighter fluid, cleaning products, furniture polish, etc.) was swallowed.

If you are instructed to go to the hospital:

• Take the poison and its container or the plant with you.
• Do not attempt additional first aid unless your doctor or the Poison Center instructs you to do so.

The best way to treat poisoning is to avoid it. If it does occur, be prepared for it.

To avoid a poisoning:

• Keep all drugs and dangerous household chemicals locked up.
• Never put a dangerous chemical in a beverage container.
• Do not rely on child-proof caps.
• Do not store drugs in purses, drawers or the medicine cabinet.
• Never call medicine "candy."

If there is a poisoning:
Be sure to have Syrup of IPECAC available to induce vomiting if instructed by your doctor or the Poison Center. Keep one ounce for each child or grandchild in the home available for emergencies.

Syrup of IPECAC:

• Can be purchased at your pharmacy without a prescription.
• Should be stored at room temperature.
• Will keep for years.

What to do if someone eats or comes in contact with a poisonous plant

Do you know what to do if someone eats or comes in contact with a Poisonous Plant?

How friendly are your houseplants?
Household plants have become one of the nations leading substances ingested by children.

This information will help you in identifying plants that are poisonous. The plants listed are ones that are most commonly asked about.

It is important that you know the names of all the plants in your home and yard, because we cannot accurately identify your plants from a telephone description.

If you do not find a particular plant on these lists please call or write your Poison Center.

If you do not know the name of a plant, have it identified at the nearest landscape and gardening center in your area.

The lists of toxic and non-toxic plants are not complete and include only the plants that are asked about most often. If you have a question about a plant not included on these lists, please call or write the Iowa Statewide Poison Center, 1-800-222-1222. 2720 Stone Park Boulevard, Sioux City, Iowa 51104.

Remember to:
Never eat any part of an unknown plant or mushroom. Teach your children to never put leaves, stems, bark, seeds, nuts or berries in their mouths.

Remember all plants, even non-toxic plants, can be a choking hazard, particularly in small children.

Non-Toxic Plants
The following plants are considered essentially non-toxic (safe, not poisonous). Symptoms from eating or handling these plants are unlikely. Any plant can cause unexpected reactions in certain individuals.

Abelia

Absynnian Sword Lily

African Palm

African Violet

Airplane Plant

Aluminum Plant

Aralia

Araucaria

Asparagus Fern (Dermatitis)

Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant)

Aster

Baby's Tears

Bachelor's Buttons

Bamboo

Begonia

Bird's-Nest Fern

Black Olive (Little info as to whether a problem or not)

Blood Leaf Plant

Boston Ferns

Bougainvillea

Cactus (Certain varieties)

California Holly

California Poppy

Camelia

Christmas Cactus

Coleus Species

Corn Plant

Crab Apples

Creeping Jennie, Moneywort, Lysima

Croton (House variety)

Dahlia

Daisies

Dandelion

Dogwood

Donkey Tail

Dracaena (Caution with animal ingestions)

Easter Lily

Echeveria

Eucalyptus (Caution)

Eugenia

Flowering Crab

Gardenia

Gloxinia

Grape Ivy

Hedge Apples

Hen Chicks

Honeysuckle

Hoya

Impatiens

Jade Plant

Kalanchoe

Lilac

Lily (Day, Easter, or Tiger)

Lipstick Plant

Magnolia

Marigold

Monkey Plant

Norfolk Island Pine

Peperomia

Petunia

Prayer Plant

Purple Passion

Pyrocantha

Rose

Sanseveria

Scheffelera

Sensitive Plant

Spider Plant

Swedish Ivy

Umbrella

Violets

Wandering Jew

Weeping Fig

Weeping Willow

Wild Onion

Zebra Plant

Toxic Plants
The following plants are considered TOXIC* (poisonous, possibly dangerous).

Acorn

Anemone

Angel Trumpet Tree

Apple Seeds

Apricot Pit (Kernels)

Arrowhead

Avocado (Leaves)

Azaleas

Betel Nut Palm

Bittersweet

Buckeye

Buttercups

Caladium

Calla Lily

Castor Bean

Chinese Lantern

Creeping Charlie - Ground Ivy (glechoma hedercea)

Crocus, Autumn

Daffodil

Daphne

Delphinium

Devil's Ivy

Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane)

Elderberry

Elephant Ear

English Ivy

Four O'Clock

Foxglove

Hemlock, Poison

Holly Berries

Horsetail Reed

Hyacinth (bulbs)

Hydrangea

Iris

Ivy (Boston, English)

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Jequirity Bean or Pea

Jerusalem Cherry

Jessamine (Jasmine)

Jimson Weed (Thorn Apple)

Jonquil

Lantana Camara

Larkspur

Laurels

Lily-of-the-Valley

Lobelia

Marijuana

Mayapple

Mescal (Peyote)

Mistletoe

Moonseed

Monkshood

Morning Glory

Mushroom

Narcissus

Nephthytis

Nightshade

Oleander

Peach Seeds

Periwinkle

Philodendron

Poison Ivy

Poison Oak

Poppy (California Poppy excepted)

Pokeweed

Potato (Sprouts)

Primrose

Ranunculus

Rhododendron

Rhubarb (Blade)

Rosary Pea

Star-of-Bethlehem

Sweet Pea

Tobacco

Tomato (Vines)

Tulip

Water Hemlock

Wisteria

Yew

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*These plants contain a wide variety of poisons, and symptoms may vary from a mild stomachache, skin rash, swelling of the mouth and throat to involvement of the heart, kidneys, or other organs.

Some do's and don'ts

1. Never eat any part of an unknown plant or mushroom. Teach your children never to put leaves, stems, barks, seeds, nuts, or berries from any plant into their mouths.
2. Keep poisonous house plants out of reach of young children. Store bulbs and seeds out of sight and out of reach.
3. Learn to identify the poisonous plants in your neighborhood.
4. Do not assume a plant is not poisonous because birds or other wildlife eat it.
5. Do not rely on cooking to destroy toxic chemicals in plants. Never use anything prepared from nature as a medicine or "tea."

Remember that any plant can cause unexpected reactions in certain individuals. Always check with the Poison Center or your physician if a plant has been ingested.

The Poison Center can give you more specific information on these or other plants that can be poisonous that may not be on this list.

Souce : http://www.medi-smart.com/emer_asthma.htm