National Safe Kids Week

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By Kathy Weber

Story Published: Apr 30, 2009 at 6:24 PM MST

Story Updated: May 1, 2009 at 10:02 PM MST

BILLINGS - In observance of National Safe Kids week, KULR-8 News is working with community leaders to bring you stories that could save lives.

In addition to 911, there's another phone number every parent or caregiver should know. Experts say every parent needs to memorize this number: 800-222-1222. It's the Poison Control Hotline.

A child can get poisoned within a matter of seconds and you never know when it could mean the difference between life and death. More than 90,000 children are sent to emergency rooms every year for accidental poisonings. About 100 children die from poisonings every year.

Saint Vincent Healthcare Trauma Education and Injury Prevention Coordinator, Jason Mahoney says poisonings for children are so tragic because they are preventable.

"Poisonings for children are usually very, very preventable that's the worst part. A few simple steps can usually prevent most of those injuries and sometimes deaths. Anything that can be poisonous or toxic to children should be not only out of their reach, but out of sight. What we all know about kids is that if there is something they are interested in, they will find a way to get to it."

Mahoney says never refer to medicine or vitamins as candy and remember the packaging for toxic cleaners may look delightful to a young child.

"Everything from cleaning chemicals to over the counter medications are packaged to market themselves. They are very colorful, very eye-catching." It's not just cleaners and other poisons to keep out of reach: medicines and prescriptions could prove deadly as well. Mahoney says, "It can be very normal things that can come to toxic levels."

Experts say child-resistant packaging has saved thousands of children but there's no substitute for supervision. Mahoney advises talking to children as young as six-months-old about the dangers of accidental poisoning.

"Many parents underestimate their child's ability to understand and comprehend what is safe and what's not. Ask them to understand a little bit, which they are capable of doing and from that point on they can take an active role in keeping themselves safe."

To learn more about poisonous plants, lead and carbon monoxide testing, click here.

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