National Poison Prevention Week

Every year, during the third week of March, it is National Poison Prevention Week.  Having time dedicated to the danger that poisoning presents to people, whether you are old or young is of high importance.  You may think something like poisoning couldn’t happen to you or someone you love, but now is the time to learn and make sure that it doesn’t.

Since National Poison Prevention Week was implemented in the ’70s, there has been a drastic reduction in poison-related deaths.  This goes to show that the more we bring up these topics and issues such as poisoning, we also bring a level of education and awareness that is needed to keep our loved ones out of harm’s way.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that most unintentional child poisonings happen in the home.  Protecting children is key, and close calls with poisonous products are common.

Here are a few tips to help prevent in-home poisonings:

• Put household cleaning items in out of reach places or out of sight with children around.
• When shopping, keep an eye out for child-resistant containers.
• Read labels on products properly and throw old products away.
• install alarms to detect these harmful products such as Carbon Monoxide (CO)

If you have a question about poisonous materials or products, be sure to contact the poison control helpline (1-800-222-1222). In case of an emergency, make sure you have the number where others can easily find it.

Use this week to learn more about poison prevention.  There are plenty of steps that you can take in and around your home to ensure that accidental poisonings do not happen in the future, but if they do, you will have the information needed to resolve the situation and keep those around you safe!