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Child Safety: 9 Out of 10 Accidental Poisonings Occur in Home

The vast majority of accidents involving children and unintentional poisoning occur in the home and are caused by the ingestion of common consumer products, according to figures released last week by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). So, how can you make your home safer and protect your children?

Each year, accidental poisonings prompt more than 2 million calls to poison control centers, result in about 80,000 children being treated in ERs, and cause about 30 child deaths, according to a CPSC Press Release timed to conincide with National Poison Prevention Week (March 15-21). More than 90 percent of these emergencies stem from incidents in the home, including ingestion of medications, cleaning products, even things like lamp oil.

CPSC urges parents and caregivers to take three key steps to protect children from accidental poisoning in the home: 1) keep medicines and chemicals in original, child-resistant containers, 2) store potentially dangerous substances up high and out of a child?s sight and reach, and 3) keep the national toll-free poison control center phone number handy at all times (1-800-222-1222) in case of emergency. Learn more about ensuring your kids' safety: 10 Things to Think About: Preventing Childhood Injuries.

• CPSC Press Release on Accidental Child Poisonings
• 10 Things to Think About: Preventing Childhood Injuries (FindLaw)
• Health and Safety in the Home (FindLaw)
• Centers for Disease Control: National Poison Prevention Week (CDC.gov)
• Poisoning in the U.S.: Fact Sheet (CDC.gov)
• Poison Prevention Week (PoisonPrevention.org)
• This Week in Safety: Poison Prevention (ConsumerReports.org)
• Personal Injury Law Information Center (provided by The Law Firm of M. Paul Fischer, P.C.)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on March 25, 2009 (boomark / email).