Preventing Poisoning

Poisonings (after falls) are the second most common cause of young children being admitted to hospital or seeking treatment from hospital emergency departments.

Each year around 500 children under 5 are admitted to hospital over poisoning.

In many cases poisoning could be avoided if the poison had been safely stored.

The facts

Children aged 1 to 3 years are most at risk. More boys than girls are poisoned.
Early morning and late evening are the peak poisoning times.
Young children put anything in their mouths. This is part of learning.
Most poisonings occur in the child's own home.
Kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms are the most common rooms in which poisonings occur.
Children's liquid medicines that are commonly found in a child's home are often the poisoning agent. For example, liquid paracetamol, antibiotics, asthma and/or cough medicines.
Poisonings often occur when a substance is not in its usual storage place at the time, perhaps 'in use' or 'between uses'.
Poisoning can take only a few seconds to happen. Parents or caregivers may be distracted just before or just after giving a dose of medicine to a child e.g. by the telephone, doorbell or another child. Children can act very quickly and they may only need a few moments to get into something they shouldn't.
The two strongest risk factors related to childhood poisonings are visibility and low level placement - when a substance is both able to be seen by a child and is placed less than one metre from the ground.
Research shows that parents may underestimate the climbing ability of their children. Reports of poisonings show that they occur when a child makes a development leap i.e. they do something for the first time. For example, parents may think that a medicine is 'safe' when stored on the bench or on a chest of drawers because their child cannot reach it. However, poisoning may occur the first time the child drags a stool or chair over to the furniture and climbs up to reach the medicine.

Preventing Poisoning

Store all medicines and other poisons out of reach i.e. at least one metre off the ground, out of sight and preferably locked away. Special locking devices are available for cupboards and drawers. Remember to use these devices all the time.
If a medicine needs to be kept in the fridge, place it well back in the fridge, out of sight of children.
Store medicines and other products such as cleaning agents in cupboards where food is not also stored to avoid the possibility of getting them mixed up.
Buy medicines in containers with safety caps. (See inset about safety caps.)
Buy medicines in small quantities so you do not have large amounts in storage at home
Keep medicines in their original containers. Never put them in food or drink containers.
Never put different tablets or capsules in the same container.
Call medicines medicines. Never call them sweets, lollies or soft drinks. Educate children that medicines are for use only with adults.
Use a reminder for when to give medicines rather than leaving them in view. Put a note on the fridge or set an alarm clock to remind you.
Check the label of the medicine before taking them yourself or giving them to someone else. Follow the instructions carefully. If you are unsure of the correct dose of a medicine, telephone your local pharmacist, doctor or at night, after hours medical centre.
Turn on a light when giving medicines at night to someone else or taking them yourself to make sure you can read the instructions correctly and see what you are you doing.
Use proper medicine measures to measure accurate doses. Household spoons vary in size. Ask your pharmacist to recommend a measure that best suits your needs.
Adults should take their own medicines away from children as children learn by copying adult's behaviour.
Remind grandparents and others who visit that medicines are easily accessible in handbags. Put handbags out of reach.
Return all unwanted or out-of-date medicines to your pharmacist for safe disposal. It is not appropriate to flush them down the toilet, wash them down the sink or put them out in the rubbish.
Keep these telephone numbers near your phone:

National Poisons Centre... 0800 764 766
Doctor... !
After Hours Medical Centre... !
Pharmacy... !

Safety caps

Safety caps are automatically used on some liquid medicines when they are prescribed. Other medicines are automatically sold with safety caps fitted. You can ask your pharmacist to provide you with safety caps for other medicines. Safety caps are easy to manage. Most use a 'push and turn' action that is simple for adults but far more difficult for children under five years old.

To remove a safety cap, press down and turn the cap to unscrew it. To put the cap back on, twist normally. To check that it is safely on, turn the cap back the other way - you should hear a 'clicking' sound.

Replace the cap securely after every use.

Remember safety caps are not childproof. They make it harder for children to get at a medicine but not impossible. Even if a medicine has a safety cap fitted, store it up high, out of sight and preferably locked away from children.

Strip packaging, blister or bubble packaging, is another form of safety packaging required for some medicines but it does not guarantee child safety either.

First Aid for if a poisoning occurs:

Remove the poisonous substance from the child immediately.
Don't give them anything to eat.
Don't try to make them vomit.
Ring the National Poisons Centre on 0800 POISONS (0800 764 7667), your doctor, after hours medical centre or hospital emergency department even if there is no sign of poisoning.
If you can, take the container with you to the phone. It is important for you to be able to tell the Poisons Centre or your doctor what has been swallowed. They will tell you what to do for treatment and/or whether you should take your child to the doctor or a hospital.
If you are not able to telephone anyone take your child straight to your nearest medical centre or hospital emergency department. Take the medicine container with you.
If you know your child has taken a corrosive substance (one which burns the inside of the mouth and throat, such as automatic dishwasher detergent, battery fluid, bleach and rat poison) immediately give a small amount of fluid - 1/4 glass.

Remember - it's not just medicines that poison

Cleaning products, detergents, paint, turps, meths, garden products, nail polish remover can also be poisonous. The same guidelines apply for the safe storage and use of these products.

Read the labels carefully.
Don't mix different cleaners together as they may interact to form toxic gases.
Make sure you clean up after working around the house, car and garden.
Throw out left-over cleaners, sprays or paint-products straight away.
If you have to mix sprays or soak paint brushes in white spirits or turps, do not use cups, soft-drink bottles or other containers that are usually used to hold food or drink. Even adults could drink from these containers by mistake.