More tips on Poison Control Awareness Week

Safety tips at home:

• More than 90 percent of poisonings happen in people's homes, mainly in the kitchen or bathroom.
• Keep all medicines, household cleaners and garden chemicals up high where children can't see or reach them.
• Never store household cleaning products in containers looking like cups or bottles
• Never mix household cleaning products together. Mixing them can cause poisonous gas
• Swallowing a button battery can be deadly for a child. Call right away if a battery is missing from an electronic.

Spotlight on Prescription painkillers:

• The FDA is calling prescription drug abuse an "Epidemic". Prescription painkillers are responsible for a lot of addiction and abuse
• Get rid of prescription painkillers when you are finished with them. (you can take them to your local fire department or police station-no questions asked)
• If you are currently using presciption painkillers, lock them up so you are the only one that can use them.
• Prescription painkiller abuse does not draw boundaries, This epidemic hits the young, old, women and men and all income levels.

General Tips:

• Buy products in child-resistant packaging whenever possible. But remember, child-resistant is not childproof. They are designed to keep children away from the product for a short time period.
• Tell children what medicine is and why you are giving it to them.
• Never leave medicine out on a kitchen counter or at a sick child's bedside
• Always turn the light on when giving or taking medicine. Check the dosage every time.
• Clean out medicine cabinets periodically
• Use the measuring device that the medicine came with, not a kitchen spoon for instance
• Never share or sell your prescription medication
• Keep medicines in there original bottles or containers wherever possible. If you transfer medication to a different container, put in a high place where children can not see or reach the medication
• Laundry products labels contain first aid information and are valuable resource for consumers
• Teach children that laundry and cleaning solutions are not toys.
• Store food in a separate area than cleaning products and chemicals
• While working with chemicals wear protective clothing, goggles, gloves, etc
• Keep Magnetic toys and other magnetics items away from small children.
• Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. One in every area of the home
• If calling poison control have the bottle handy to read all information for Poison Control