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Poisoning can happen to anyone, anytime and any place. While 60 percent of all calls to the Connecticut Poison Control Center involve children, adults can make mistakes too -- taking medications, at work, or at play.

Calls to the center usually involve common poisonings involving medications, personal care and household products, and plants, but calls also come in about bites and stings, carbon monoxide, lead and pesticides. Poison prevention specialists can provide advice on managing inhaled and swallowed poisons, as well as poisons on the skin or in the eye.

Take the time to make your home poison-proof. A poison is anything that can make you sick if you swallow it, breathe it, or get it on your skin or in your eyes. Below are some causes of poisoning: 

Poisonings happen when you least expect them.

  • Adults and especially children are at greater risk for poisoning when daily routine is interrupted or changed, for example during vacations, stressful time, family illnesses, relocations and celebrations.

Household products pose serious risk when mishandled.

  • While using potentially dangerous products, never leave them on counters or other areas within children’s reach.
  • Always follow directions.
  • Follow safety precautions on the job.
  • Keep an eye your children while visiting other people’s homes and when they are hungry.
  • If you care for an older person, watch for confusion, especially with medications.

 

Take a tour of your home from your child’s perspective:

Kitchen

  • Be sure all household products and medications are in their original containers and are stored out of reach in a locked cabinet.

Bathroom and Bedroom

  • Keep medicines in their original containers and locked away.
  • Be sure to buy medications in child-resistant containers; no container is completely child-proof.
  • Unused and outdated medications should be safely discarded.
  • Drain, toilet, and surface cleaners should be locked away.
  • Perfume should be out of reach.
  • Never store or keep any type of medication in the bedrooms.

Laundry Area

  • Keep bleaches, soaps, spot remover sprays and detergents out of children’s reach and stored in a locked cabinet.
  • Products should be kept in their original containers.

Garage

  • Herbicides, insecticides, paint, solvents, automotive products and other potentially dangerous products should be kept in their original containers and stored in locked cabinets.
  • Gasoline and other products should not be siphoned.

General Household

  • If ingested, button batteries in toys, hearing aids, calculators and watches can easily become lodged in the throat, cause bleeding and may cause poisoning if not removed.
  • Keep plants are out of children’s reach and labeled.
  • Keep ashtrays clean.
  • Dispose of hazardous substances in such a way that children cannot get to them. Nicotine and other medicated patches may still contain some active ingredients, so dispose of them carefully.
  • After a social event, don’t wait until morning to clean up, especially beverage glasses, and dispose of unfinished alcoholic drinks.
  • Fuel burning appliances should be properly ventilated and serviced annually.
  • Install carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors on all floors. Change batteries regularly; follow manufacturers’ guidelines.
  • Remind visitors to your home not to leave their purses or packages containing medications where children can get at them.
  • Be sure the environment is poison-proof, when children stay with others.

House and Yard

  • Know the names of your house and yard plants and trees.
  • Keep houseplants out of the reach of children.
  • Teach your children never to put leaves, wild berries or wild mushrooms into their mouths.
  • Cooking may not destroy a plant’s toxic chemicals.

For a list of links to other resources, visit our on-line resources page.

 

In a poison emergency, call 1-800-222-1222.
Hearing impaired, call 1-866-218-5372.

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