Medication Safe - Dr. Ben Tsutaoka

Every year during the holidays, Poison Control Centers nationwide field numerous calls concerning ingestion of poinsettias and mistletoe. They just aren’t the killers that everyone thinks they are. The American Association of Poison Control Centers urges people to ”Treat Poinsettias and Mistletoe with Respect Rather Than Fear This Holiday Season”.

Poinsettias and mistletoe, while lovely symbols of the holiday season, have long been thought to be gravely poisonous.

But while ingesting these holiday plants can cause discomfort, data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers indicates they are not quite the deadly hazards they’ve long been believed to be.

The entire article can be found here: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/american-association-of-poison-control,1085047.shtml.

If you think your child has tasted, touched or breathed something harmful, call your local poison control center. Poison Control Centers nationwide are accessed by calling 1-800-222-1222.

The holidays are fast approaching and we encourage people to take a minute to think about preventing poisoning in their children. The holidays are a joyous time when family and friends gather together. It is also a time of year with an increased occurence of poisonings in children. While busily preparing for the holidays, children are more likely to be left unsupervised for a short amount of time. Visiting grandparents, family and friends with medications in their luggage or purse are frequent sources of a poisoning exposure in children. It takes only a short time for a child to get into medications but may lead to a lengthy visit to the Emergency Room.

A few tips to be especially mindful of during the holidays:

Store medications locked out of children’s sight and reach.

Tell grandparents, family and friends about avoiding medication poisoning when they visit or your family visits their homes.

For a great article with general tips about “Keeping kids safer around medicines, poisons” please go here: http://www.forteustiswheel.com/articles/2009/11/24/news/top_stories/top03.txt.

If you think your child has tasted, touched or breathed something harmful, call your local poison control center. Poison Control Centers nationwide are accessed by calling 1-800-222-1222.