Every year in B.C. more than 25,000 people are accidentally poisoned and nearly half of them are among children younger than six years old. It’s numbers like these that has the BC Drug and Poison Control Centre reminding parents, as part of their poison prevention week, to keep dangerous substances out of reach of children.
“Most poisonings occur in and around the home,” said LeeAnne Hancock, a poison information nurse at the centre.
“Dangerous substances need to be properly stored, out of sight and locked up tight.”
Problems occur for children as both their curiosity and physical abilities grow, according to the centre’s clinical supervisor Debra Kent.
The centre outlines the top 10 categories of poisons in young children as: household cleaners, pain relieving medication, cosmetics, foreign bodies, vitamins, plants, dietary supplements and skin cream. Essentially anything that’s commonly used in a household.
It’s also recommended that parents and caregivers regularly gather expired and unused medications and take them to the pharmacy for proper disposal.
For more information on the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre, click here or call 1-800-567-8911 or (604) 682-5050.
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