Rochester Healthy Living -- Health Articles

Most of us consider home to be a place where we are safe from the everyday dangers of daily living. But for more than 6,000 people each year, home turns out to be anything but safe. That is the number of deaths each year from accidental poisoning at home. According to the National Safety Council, another 300,000 people are seriously disabled annually after being exposed to household chemicals.
It is not just the obviously dangerous substances like pesticides and medications that are responsible for accidental poisoning. Common products found in most homes can be toxic, including cleaning products, cosmetics, lighter fluids, and lawn care chemicals such as fertilizer and weed killer. Janet Romano, a Rochester area Realtor with Nothnagle Realtors notes that children are particularly at risk because of curiosity, a tendency to put everything in their mouth, and, perhaps more importantly, because children imitate their parents. To children, medicine is candy and cleaning liquids look like fruit drinks.
The Ruth A. Lawrence Poison and Drug Information Center of Strong Memorial Hospital provides information and education 24 hour a day 7 days a week to residents and health providers in the Finger Lakes region. In addition to advice about drugs and household chemicals, the Poison Hotline can provide information about stings, bites, and plants.
The Center also saves health care dollars for the health care community and the public. In 2006, there were a total of 20,801 potentially dangerous exposure and information calls. 83% of those calls were handled by the poison specialists alone, without the need to have the patient seek medical attention at a facility.
Based on the New York State Department of Health projections, the Center saves million of dollars in emergency treatment charges through safe and effective telephone management of these potential poisonings.
There are some simple steps that everyone can take to protect from accidental poisoning at home:

Keep the Poison Center telephone number on or near the telephone
Make sure babysitters, grandparents, and other care providers know how

Store all chemicals, including cleaning liquids, up high and out of sight
Child-proof the cabinet doors
Read the labels to know exactly what the dangers are
Avoid look-alike containers (such as chemicals stored in cola bottles)
Store chemicals separate from food items
Don’t refer to medicine as candy

Ruth A. Lawrence Poison and Drug Information Center
1-800-222-1222
www.fingerlakespoison.org