News Moms Need

Did you know that every year about 3 million people, mostly kids, eat or have contact with a poisonous substance? National Poison Prevention Week is observed from March 18 – 24, 2018 in an effort to raise awareness and help protect children from accidental poisoning. The American Academy of Pediatrics (also called AAP) has developed recommendations that parents and caregivers can follow to protect little ones from accidental poisoning.

Follow and share these recommendations with family, friends and caregivers to make sure they know what to do to help keep your children safe:

•  Keep medications in their original packaging and in containers with safety caps. Store them away from children. Please note that the safety caps are designed to be child resistance, but that doesn’t mean they are fully child proof. Safely discard any unused or expired medications.
• Store cleaning and laundry products (especially detergent packets), paints, windshield wiper fluid, antifreeze, kerosene, gasoline, lamp oil and pesticides in locked cabinets or containers. Keep them in their original packaging and out of sight and reach of children.
• Install safety latches and make sure they automatically lock when you close a cabinet door. But keep in mind these devices can also malfunction or a child can defeat it. It is best to store poisonous products in a place that your child can’t reach or see.
• When giving medication to your child never refer to it as “candy.” Always use a dosing device and double check the label to ensure proper dosage. A kitchen spoon is never a substitute for a dosing device. If you have questions about the dose of a medication, call your child’s health care provider.
• Secure devices that may contain small buttons or coin batteries. They can be dangerous if ingested. For example, remote controls, key fobs (for cars), greeting cards, holiday ornaments, thermometers, musical children’s books, toys and many others.
• Find out the names of all plants in your home and garden. If any of them are poisonous, remove them. Before buying a plant, find out if they are poisonous for children or your pets.
• Ingestion or skin exposure of e-cigarette liquid (even just a small amount) can be fatal to a child. If you or anybody in your house uses them, make sure they are out of reach and sight of children. Some of them come in child resistant packaging, but that doesn’t mean they are child proof.
  • Be extra alert if you have visitors during a special event or holiday gathering. Many poisonings occur during busy times. Make sure drawers and cabinets that are usually locked stay that way. If you’re having company, consider hiring a babysitter or ask a family member to help you keep a close eye on your little one.

What can you do?

If you think your child may have been poisoned, stay calm but act fast. Call the toll-free Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222, which will connect you to a local poison center. Save this number on your phone or make a note of it in your house, near your house phone or your fridge. Do not wait to see if your child shows signs of poisoning. Even if you are not completely sure if your child has consumed a poisonous substance, make the call. It is best to have a poison expert on the other end of the line who can help you and tell you what to do.

Electronic cigarettes (also called e-cigarettes) look like regular cigarettes. But instead of lighting them, they run on batteries. They create a mist that you inhale, and they contain nicotine in a liquid form.

Are e-cigarettes safe to use during pregnancy?

We know that:

• No amount of nicotine has been proven safe in pregnancy.
• No studies have been done on the safety of e-cigarettes in pregnant women or on whether they help pregnant women stop smoking.
• Use of other nicotine-containing products during pregnancy, such as smokeless tobacco, is associated with lower birth weight, increased stillbirth rates, and premature birth.

Liquid nicotine poisoning

Liquid nicotine for e-cigarettes is sold in small tubes that may be bright and colorful. They may have flavors, like cherry or bubble gum. All of these things may make them seem fun and appealing, especially to children. Liquid nicotine has powerful toxins and a small amount may be very harmful, even deadly. It can cause nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), vomiting, and eye irritation.

There have been many reports of people, especially children, being poisoned from coming into contact with liquid nicotine, either by accidentally drinking it or by spilling it and absorbing it through the skin. According to the CDC, e-cigarette exposure calls to poison centers increased from one per month in September 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014, and over half of those calls were regarding children ages 5 and under.

Regulation and research

E-cigarettes are not currently regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), although this may change soon.

More research is needed to better understand the effects of e-cigarettes on women during pregnancy and their children. If you’re pregnant and using e-cigarettes or thinking about using e-cigarettes, talk to your provider.

Have questions? Email us at AskUs@marchofdimes.org.

Growing up my brother was a sneaky toddler who was always climbing and crawling all around the house. One story I always remembered hearing was how he used a chair to climb up on the counter and into a cabinet to grab a vitamin bottle while my mom was changing my sister’s diaper. The chewable, pink candy-tasting vitamins enticed him so much, he started eating handfuls. It wasn’t until he threw them up hours later that my parents realized what had happened and rushed him to the hospital.

Even when you take precautions to keep potentially dangerous items out of your little one’s reach, accidents happen. It’s important to be prepared.

Steps to take

If your child is unconscious or has trouble breathing, call 9-1-1.

If you think your child may have been poisoned, stay calm and call the toll-free Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222, which connects you to a local poison center. Do not wait for signs of poisoning before calling the Poison Help Line. Even if you are not sure if your child has consumed chemicals, medicine or household items, make the call. A poison expert will be on the other end of the line to assist you.

More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to poison control centers across the country. More than 90 percent of these poisonings occur in the home and the majority of non-fatal poisonings occur in children younger than six years old. Put the poison help line number in your cell phone and read through this emergency checklist to be prepared if a possible poisoning ever happens.

How to keep your child safe

Medication bottles with easy-open lids can be opened by a toddler in less than a minute. It’s important that you child-proof your home and always remember to lock up medications and cleaning supply bottles.

Many things in this day and age have gone digital – even smoking. The latest trend is the fast-growing use of electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes. They look like regular cigarettes, but can be used more than once because they use rechargeable batteries. E-cigarettes have nicotine that comes as a liquid and can be refilled. Nicotine is a harmful drug that is found in cigarettes.

There’s been many reports of people, especially children, being poisoned from being in contact with liquid nicotine, either by accidentally drinking it or by spilling it and absorbing it through the skin. Liquid nicotine has powerful toxins and a small amount may be very harmful, even deadly. Liquid nicotine for e-cigarettes is sold in small vials that may be bright and colorful. Sometimes, liquid nicotine may have added flavors, like cherry or bubble gum. All of these things can make it appealing to children and may lead to accidental poisoning.

There isn’t enough research to know if e-cigarettes are safe. If you use e-cigarettes, be sure to keep them and any items used with e-cigarettes, like liquid nicotine, away from children. Store them in a secure place to keep everyone safe.

Hundreds of thousands of children take a trip to the hospital every year due to taking medications that are in the house and are way too easy for them to get their hands on. Often, old prescriptions that were never completely used are sitting around posing an unnecessary risk.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has organized another prescription drug “take back” day to provide drop sites for people who want to properly dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs. The two take back days in 2010 collected nearly 309 tons of prescription drugs. This year’s event is on Saturday October 29, 2011, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. You can locate a drop site near you at this link or by calling 800-882-9539.

Drop by and drop off your old drugs. Do it for your kids.