Catawba County News
Poison Prevention Week 2023
Published: March 24, 2023
Poison prevention is often thought to be something we think about for children. If we stop and think about it, poisoning could happen to any of us making poison prevention something we should all think about.
What is a poison?
A poison can be anything that we use in an unintended way. A medication that says to take 2 pills and we take 10. A cleaner intended for laundry that gets put in the mouth. Weed killer that gets on our skin or in our eyes.
What can we do?
Safe Storage
- Limit access to medication and vitamins. Think about others in your home. Children, those with dementia, mental health issues, etc. Put medications in a place these folks can’t get to.
- Leave medications in marked containers and put medications away after each use.
- Use child-resistant packaging.
- Be mindful of medications kept in your purse or car.
- Cleaners should be kept in their original containers. It’s also not a good idea to mix cleaners.
- Keep cleaners out of reach of children. Store them up and away and make sure kids know to use them with adult supervision.
Medication Dosing
- Take medication as prescribed.
- Don’t share medications. If it is prescribed for you, it is meant for you.
Medication Disposal
- Medications, prescription or over the counter, should be disposed of properly. We don’t want to put it in the trash where others could possibly get it out and take it. Flushing medications can have environmental consequences. So what do we do? Take unused and expired medication to your local law enforcement office and place them in an Operation Medicine Drop box and they will be disposed of.
Poison Help
Sometimes things happen making a contingency plan a good idea. Poison Help is available 24 hours a day. Call 1-800-222-1222 for confidential, expert medical advice. If someone has had a potential poisoning and they are showing life-threatening symptoms (trouble breathing, altered mental status, etc) call 911 immediately.