Tips to prevent child poisonings!
Teach your children that medicine is not candy!
It’s National Poison Prevention Week, and I wanted to share some personal stories about how lucky Georgians are to have the Georgia Poison Center operated through Grady Health System. It is a free 24-hour hotline that anyone can call with questions about human or animal poisonings. They can diagnose and treat poisonings over the phone. They also can tell you about drug interactions and if you are nursing, they can advise if medicines you are taking can transfer through your breast milk.
I have personally called the GPC, which is supervised by the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, on many occasions. I have found them to be a reliable, professional resource that literally saved my son’s life when he was little.
Here are examples of when I called the GPC during nine years of parenting three kids (Please don’t be mean to me for admitting these to you guys!!I am fully aware of my stupidity and no one could make feel worse than I felt at the time.):
- I left a closed bottle of medicine on the counter while I went to get a second dispenser. (Both kids were sick.) When I returned to the bathroom I found a 3-year-old Walsh drinking it like it was Gatorade. (He had opened the not so child-proof container!) I immediately called the GPC and they advised that I had one-hour to get him to the hospital before it entered his blood stream. They called ahead to the ER and the doctors were waiting by the front door of the hospital for us and immediately took Walsh back.
- I was planting flowers in our front yard when Rose was about 2. I turned around to pick up another flower and found Rose eating a small amount of granules of fertilizer. I called the GPC and they said it was fine and she would be OK. I think around that time she also nibbled some dog food, but they said that was OK too. (Clearly she was into things at 2.)
- I was nursing Walsh but had to take a steroid for tendinitis from pushing that ridiculously heavy double stroller. Walsh came down with a fever and Michael was convinced it was my fault because of the steroids. Our lactation consultant and pediatrician had approved it before I started taking the drug, but he was scaring me that the drug was affecting him through my milk. It was well past the doctor’s office hours, but I called the GPC and they assured me I was not doing anything to hurt my baby by taking the steroids. (And Michael shut up about it. The baby was just sick.)
- Multiple calls about acceptable medications for me to take while nursing with all three babies.
- Last year, Lilina got into a cabinet (again, thank goodness the childproof lock worked so well!) and was “cleaning” the bathroom for me. I had no idea if she drank the cleaner so I called GPC to discuss it. He told me the active ingredients in that product wouldn’t hurt her even if she had and to flush her system I think with water (maybe it was milk).
I think that’s all the times I called. Seems like plenty! But thank goodness they were there to take my calls and help me know what to do.
I’m not alone in needing the GPC for advice. In 2009, the GPC answered 115,669 calls. Of these, 83,719 were human poisoning exposures, with more than 50% involving children under age five. The Specialists in Poison Information (SPI) treated 75% of these calls at home via telephone consultation, thereby eliminating unnecessary trips to the emergency room or doctor’s office.
Here are some tips the GPC sent me to share with your guys to help prevent poisonings:
- Store medicines, vitamins, household cleaners, cosmetics, lawn, and automotive products in locked cabinets out of the reach and sight of children.
- Use child resistant packaging and replace the lids tightly.
- Be aware that child resistant does not mean child-proof; some children can open child resistant containers
- Never take prescription medicine that belongs to someone else, even if you have the same symptoms.
- Never refer to medicine as “candy”
- Read labels and follow the directions on all medicine and household product containers
- Do not mix cleaning products
- Teach children never to taste anything without an adult’s permission
- Know the name of all the plants in your home
- Install at least one carbon monoxide detector near the sleeping areas in your home
- Never use an oven or gas stove to heat your home
- Do not go near, tease or play with wild animals or strange dogs and cats
- Do not pick up or move a sick or hurt wild animals
- Keep the phone number to the Georgia Poison Center near all phones in your home, or program the number into your phones
If you suspect a poisoning, have any poison related questions, or need poison prevention materials, call the Georgia Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222
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166 comments Add your comment
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
12:08 pm
@MJG: What? Have you ever seen the size of a Shetland Sheep Dog? They go 20-25 pounds (or so). How on earth did that dog get up on the counters? Much less the pies?
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
12:13 pm
Wayne…one word for your friends…GROSS! I don’t even put food in the dogs’ bowls unless I’m not going to close by! Hearing the boxer eat is just disgusting. The mini-pin, he just crunches one piece at a time! :o)
MJG-I’m laughing over here! Let me know when you’re actually home for a few days…we’ll definitely do lunch! I’m close enough to your area we can go over there to eat! Lots of places to pick from! You know I HATE when you put in an application somewhere and never hear back…or a year later they call you and you’ve forgotten who they are! Are you staying with AT&T or are you going to switch this year? I know you paid attention the new phone topic! T…what did you finally decide on getting?
OK…just so you know, it’s not just kids who need to call poison control. I’ve had to call poison control for adults who have mixed too many medications and OTC…sorry over the counter medicines and herbs! They wonder why they feel sluggish or out of it!
JJ
March 18th, 2010
12:14 pm
Diedre, that sounds just like me when I was a kid. We had the hospital ER on retainer….LOL
Lets see…I feel off the monkey bars in elementary school – 4 stitches in my chin;
Had a cyst removed from my throat – another 4 stitches;
scrapped my chin on the bottom of a swimming pool – 4 more stitches in my chin;
Bike accident – 10 stitches in my knee;
fell of a trampoline – 3 PINS to put my elbow back in place, and 20 stitches after the surgery; pin removal – another 12 stitches (4 per pin);
two surgeries on my thyroid glands (dissolvable stitches)……..
If they had DFACs around then like now, I’d have been taken from my family….
Now my question to you is – How did a kid get their head stuck in a ceiling fan???????
JJ
March 18th, 2010
12:17 pm
This is very gross, but do any of you dog owners have a problem with dogs eating cat poop?
Although on the bright side, I haven’t had to scoup much out of the cat box……GROSS!!!!!
JJ
March 18th, 2010
12:18 pm
OH, and I’m sorry, but this is WWWAAAYYYYYY off topic. Did anyone see the advertisement on this page for college text book rentals “Chegg”? My daughter uses them, and they are very inexpensive. You can rent text books for a FRACTION of the purchase price. They even plant one tree for every book you rent. They will also send you the boxes and labels to return them at the end of the semester. It has saved me a TON of money!!!!!!!
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
12:21 pm
JJ…many of them like tootsie rolls! I think it is a delicacy for them…not sure why! Maybe they are helping you clean up! I have heard that is why they eat their own. I would ask your vet about this! Not to pry, but why did they take your whole thyroid out the first time?
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
12:21 pm
JJ, my nephew uses this in Indiana!! He loves it!!
Spacey
March 18th, 2010
12:25 pm
Thanks for the phone number!
The blog is cracking me up today. Please keep the stories coming…
TechMom
March 18th, 2010
12:28 pm
@JJ my brother in law uses Chegg (I had to ask what the heck it was when I saw his beer bottle opener keychain in the shape of, you guessed it, an egg). Seems like a smart alternative until text book manufacturers start licensing e-copies of their books. I really think if Amazon could partner with text book manufacturers and schools, they could take over the entire text book industry. Think about – every kid is given/purchases/rents a Kindle and then you get the electronic versions of the books. No more lugging around 20 lbs of books and no more “I forgot my book” excuses. They could sell the books for one price for time-period based use (6 mos, 1 year, whatever) or they could sell them with a lifetime license like Amazon currently does for things you might need much longer (my SIL is in nursing school so she actually has already done this with a couple of her drug-reference books).
A couple of my son’s textbooks have companion websites already so he doesn’t even have to bring those books home (which means cash-strapped schools could have just 1 classroom set of books and then give online access for homework). I know this requires kids to have a computer which is why the Kindle is ingenious.
JJ
March 18th, 2010
12:38 pm
Michelle – I had my thyroid GLANDS (not the thyroid) removed, due to extremely high calcium levels. Had to have it done twice, and I’m now down to 1/2 a gland.
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
12:46 pm
I have a Beagle and a Rat Terrier – both of which can fit through the cat door to the ’snack trays’. It’s among the list of most gross things I can think of, especially as I walk into the kitchen and see one of the dogs come tear-assing out of the cat door, sees me, stops dead and the poop comes flying out of their mouth. Yeah. Real nice.
We had such a problem with it we got ’special’ collars for them. Problem solved. Didn’t want to do it but it was keep the dogs in their crates all the time, or lock the cat door. Either way wasn’t fair to either set of animals. We tried for weeks to keep them out so… as I said, no more problem.
After all that, I saw that Foster’s and Smith has some kind of liquid you can give dogs so that their poops taste awful (there’s an oxymoron for ya) so they won’t eat it. I was tempted, but we’re good now.
JJ
March 18th, 2010
12:58 pm
“Snack trays” – ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I had to read that post twice before I got that…..good one Wayne!!!!
cld
March 18th, 2010
1:02 pm
JJ, We don’t have a cat, but my dad has a cat and two dogs. Both dogs love to take “Scoobie Snacks” from the litter box!
Becky
March 18th, 2010
1:17 pm
@JJ.. Have a nephew that thought he was Superman..As soon as they were back from the emergency room for stiches, he tred it again..
@deidre..That’s life in childhood isn’t it? Thank goodness all of yours survived..Don’t recall anyone in my family having any super serious childhood problems..Which is amazing since there are so many of us..I’m the only one that has any kind of broke bone..Broke my collarbone when I was about 13, hurt like a mothersticker..
MomsRule
March 18th, 2010
1:26 pm
OK – so to everyone who has dogs dining on cat “treats” do you let your dogs lick your faces? Sorry, I have to ask.
We don’t have pets now but I grew up with many dogs and cats…never had this problem. N A S T Y
JJ
March 18th, 2010
1:27 pm
My mom threatened to keep me indoors for an entire summer, and I ended up tripping over a floor pillow and landing on the tv with my forehead…..another 4 stitches. I forgot about that one…….
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:30 pm
theresa, can I ask you a blunt question. Why do you keep the Rectal Bleeding poster on here with that name?
I am grateful I have never had to call them but have had my share of calling the nurse line :)
Rectal Bleeding
March 18th, 2010
1:31 pm
Do any of you actually read what you are saying? I’m not talking about spelling or grammar errors….I’m talking about some real dumb remarks.
You should be less worried about what your kids can get in to and more worried about what influence you have on them.
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:31 pm
MomsRule that makes me just want to hurl and you see all sorts of people do it.. Blech!!
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
1:31 pm
Lick my face? My dogs, or cats? Nope. Nada. Nothing doing. I don’t even like them licking my hands! I’m not gonna talk about what I like licked. Least not here. In public.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
March 18th, 2010
1:32 pm
I’ve asked him t change his name — I need to ask my boss if i should ban him just for the name —
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
1:33 pm
My stepmother was eating an ice cream cone once and she had her dog lick and eat some. I thought she was done with it, but noooo…. She went right back to eating it. Like Roamoing Gnome, I almost lost my lunch.
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:35 pm
You are the gate keeper here… either have him change it or ban his IP address…. Thank you.
Wayne and she kisses your dad with that mouth huh? :)
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
1:36 pm
I know! :}
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
1:36 pm
JJ…hmmm the thyroid is considered a gland…LOL…I’m going to assume you’re talking about your parathyroids b/c those are the big calcium regulators in the body! I’ll bet that was NOT fun! People don’t typically notice calium until there’s a problem, but boy watch out when there is one! MISERABLE! What a bummer that you had to go through it more than once! YUCK!
I had my thyroid taken out for nodules. My MD said he recommended taking the whole thing out b/c if not, in about 6 months to a year, I’d be back to have the other half taken out anyway! I’ve heard that happen to a lot of others and just wondered if that was your case too!
JJ-no one can EVERY say your childhood was not full of fun and excitement!
Lori
March 18th, 2010
1:37 pm
Don’t forget about plants too. I don’t know about people and dogs but azaleas are poisonous to goats. My mother lost several of her goats to the flowers in the garden!!
And a dog's mouth...
March 18th, 2010
1:38 pm
…is still cleaner than a human’s mouth, yet none of you blanch at kissing your mother/father, wife/husband, child, etc with it…so why all the outrage at the dogs?
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
1:38 pm
Wayne…LMBO…
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:40 pm
And a dog’s mouth… I dont give “shart” (no pund intended) but after he licks his poopy rear end he sure wont be kissing me!
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
1:40 pm
Dog’s mouth, that is true…humans, then cats, then dogs if I remember correctly! Human bites that break the skin (not through clothing) almost always need treated with antibiotics, cats too, dogs most of the time!
Lori
March 18th, 2010
1:40 pm
Here’s something completely off topic, but a recurring problem I’m having. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get birds to stop nesting on the front porch light? I have one that does it every year, and on “teach the babies to fly day”, I usually end up with 2 or 3 babies birds IN my house!!! I can’t even go check the mail without being either assaulted by the mother, or having to chase the babies back outside. She lays two rounds of eggs a year, so I get this every May and every July. Any suggestions?
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
1:40 pm
[sigh] You had to bring in other animals, didn’t ya. I had to clear about 2 acres of trees because they could have killed the horse and donkey that we have. Wasn’t the only reason, but I had to make sure that they couldn’t reach the cherry (and some other that I don’t recall) trees because they are poisonous to equines. Yeah, that cost a bundle.
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:47 pm
Lori… AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW I know its annoying but its so cute as well :)
TechMom
March 18th, 2010
1:48 pm
@And a dog’s mouth… may contain less bacteria than a human’s but that doesn’t mean the bacteria isn’t more potent or that it’s still disgusting.
Either way, there is no way I’m going to let my dogs lick me, on the face or otherwise. I am actually allergic to dogs & their saliva so I always wash my wash hands after touching them anyway. People who allow their dogs to eat after them just grosses me out- you might as well serve your dinner on the toilet seat.
Yeah, Roaming Gnome...
March 18th, 2010
1:49 pm
…and whether you are male or female, there are many things on humans you have probably touched with your mouth, yet you keep on kissin’ other humans…
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:50 pm
Nasty person.. you want to french kiss your dog you go right ahead..
Sorry, TechMom...
March 18th, 2010
1:50 pm
…just espousing the facts…
Sorry, Roaming Gnome...
March 18th, 2010
1:52 pm
…it goes WAAAAAYYYYY beyond french kissin’….yet you still do it…
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:52 pm
Sorry, TechMom… if that gets you all warm and fuzzy, hats off to ya
Becky
March 18th, 2010
1:54 pm
Have a friend that lives in MD and her neighbor’s dog eats off of a china plate at the diner table with them..
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:54 pm
Hey Lori, if she has not built a nest there this year… what about getting say some sort of plastic bird and sticking up there .. This might scare her to a different place???
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:55 pm
Becky **********EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW****************
****
March 18th, 2010
1:56 pm
f you pushed your own naked clone off the top of a tall building, would it be: A) murder? B) suicide? or C) simply making an obscene clone fall?
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
1:59 pm
I have a ? for all you people that have no problem showing PDA with your dog… Do you not wash your hands before you touch food???
SRH
March 18th, 2010
2:02 pm
Since this topic has morphed into the pet safety area, I thought you might like to see a list of all things that are toxic to pets. http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_ID/54/dogbowl.asp
SRH
March 18th, 2010
2:06 pm
And here is one for cats. http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/humanfood.htm
My dog also eats the occasional cat poop, and it drives me crazy! I work from home so I do clean it out as soon as I see her go – that helps a lot. I make my dog his own food and he gets some great snack, so I don’t get it! On the poisoning for children topic, when I was 4 my sister forced me and another sister to eat some berries off a plant.My mom rushed us to the hospital and we had our stomaahs pumped. I felt bad for days. I also ate an entire choclate exlax bar when I was about 6 – bad scene LOL
Wayne
March 18th, 2010
2:08 pm
If I am about to serve food, I’m washing my hands irregardless of whether I touched an animal or not.
Roamoing Gnome
March 18th, 2010
2:10 pm
I still will not let a dog lick my face… Blech!
Michelle
March 18th, 2010
2:10 pm
SRH…good ol’ ex-lax! Whew! I’ll bet that was a lifetime lesson learned! :o)
Becky
March 18th, 2010
2:11 pm
@Roamning Gnome..Not as gross, but what about a person that calls home during the day to “talk” to her dog and cat?