By BobbieJo Paul, Family Nurse Practitioner, ATI Active Care, Waukesha, Wisconsin
More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year across the country and more than 90% of those poisonings occur in the home.
Common products can cause poisoning; taking too many over the counter or prescription medications or accidently ingesting a liquid cleaner that was stored with food. Poisoning can occur at any age. Children are curious, anyone may get distracted only to make a mistake and elderly or those with vision problems may not see well enough to distinguish a product or read a label.
What can you do?
- Take this week to check your home for risk of poisoning.
- Look at medications, household products, cleaning products, pesticides and fertilizers.
- Make sure they are properly stored and they are in original containers with labels.
- Properly dispose of expired medications.
- If you have children in the home place poisonous items out of reach or behind doors with safety latches.
- Do not store chemicals with food.
If you think someone has been poisoned call 1-800-222-1222 to talk with your local poison center 24/7. If the person is not breathing, call 911. Do not wait for signs of a poisoning before calling the Poison Help line.
ATI Active Care is a walk-in clinic, located at ATI's Waukesha, WI clinic, that provides immediate care for non-emergency acute conditions, physicals, health screenings, preventive health and wellness programs. For more information contact BobbieJo Paul at bobbiejopaul@activatehealthcare.com or call (262) 574-2711.