Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Poisoning Accidents – How To Protect Your Children
Summer is a time when children are exposed to new poisonous substances. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), parents should be aware of their children being exposed to poisonous plants, snakes, pesticides, and fuel products.
With people planting gardens, parents need to be extra careful to protect children from pesticides and fertilizers. They should make sure to keep pesticides and fertilizers in their original containers, use child-resistant packaging and make sure containers are tightly closed, and should wash with soap and water after using or handling pesticides or fertilizers.
When mowing the grass, or having summer barbecues, parents should keep all gasoline, kerosene, and charcoal lighter fuels away from children and pets. If children are allergic to insect stings they should wear a medic-alert bracelet to warn health care professionals. Children should be taught not to eat any kind of plant or mushroom or fruit they find in the wild until the adult has identified that it is safe. Children should be warned not to ever try to catch or pick up any kind of snake until an adult has identified that it is safe.
An organization dedicated to keeping kids safe, USA Safe Kids recommends:
- Parents should lock up poisonous household products and medications.
- They should always read labels to find out what ingredients are poisonous.
- Parents should not mix cleaning products.
- Make sure to purchase everything with child-resistant packaging.
- Carefully read all medicine labels and follow directions.
- Flush outdated medicines down the toilet.
- Make sure all houses the child visits also follow these recommendations.
- Test your child for lead poisoning, and for homes built before 1978 test for lead-based paint.
- Install carbon monoxide detectors in home; change batteries every month.
- Make sure all space heaters, furnaces, and wood burning stoves are adequately ventilated.
- Parents and grandparents should not take medicines in front of their children, and should not call medicines candy.
- Never leave children alone when poisonous products are around, even briefly.
- Be aware that items in a handbag may be poisonous, including makeup, and never leave it unattended when children are near.
- If the child swallows something poisonous, parents should use activated charcoal after directed by the poison control center or physician, not Ipecac syrup to induce vomiting.
- Keep the nationwide poison control center number 1-800-222-1222 nearby.
- When calling the poison control center, be prepared to tell them your location, child’s age, weight, what substances they swallowed or absorbed, whether you gave first aid, whether they vomited, and any health problems the child has.
Kiley Law Group located in Boston and Andover, Massachusetts takes time when speaking with you about your case and works with you on a contingent basis so there are NO FEES unless our trained Massachusetts child injury lawyers wins your case. Call now for a FREE evaluation of your case – 1-888-208-1695.
