Stop Searching! Just Call!

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American Association of Poison Control Centers, poison control center, Poison Prevention, Unquestionable Answers, Youth education

A college student with a spider bite wonders if it’s normal that angry red lines have formed around the wound.

A young student realizes that she has become addicted to pain medications after her wisdom tooth surgery.

A 19-year-old serviceman wonders if this “new” drug he’s been offered by a fellow soldier is really so harmless.

If you are a young adult, one of these scenarios may have happened to you or someone you know. Was your first thought or reaction to reach for your keyboard and look it up on the Internet? If so, then you need “Unquestionable Answers.”

How About Poison Prevention All Year?

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American Association of Poison Control Centers, National Poison Prevention Week, Poison Help Line, Poison Safety, Up and Away

National Poison Prevention Week is coming to an end. It’s been awesome to see so many people and organizations across the country focusing on the importance of poison prevention this week. But our hope is that we don’t forget about poison prevention once the week is over. Poison prevention is a year-round issue!

Poisoning Prevention Superheroes

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American Association of Poison Control Centers, National Poison Prevention Week, poison control center, poison superhero

When my children were small, I was sure I had done everything I could to keep them safe. I buckled them into their car seats.  I cut food up into choke-proof sizes. Outlet plugs were covered. Medicines were locked up and away and out of sight. Detergents and cleaning products were out of reach. We thought we had taken all reasonable precautions, but one day I found myself frantically calling the Poison Help line.

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Taking my sick child’s temperature one evening, I popped the thermometer under his tongue. Sick and cranky, he fidgeted, squirmed, whined and wiggled. In a fit of irritation, he bit down on the thermometer, breaking the glass and spilling mercury onto his bed. I scooped him up and placed him in a different room, trying not to panic, but thinking, surely, that my child had been poisoned and my home contaminated.

I was terrified.

Home Safe Home

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American Association of Poison Control Centers, Childproofing, cleaning products, National Poison Prevention Week, Up and Away

Think about all the items in your home that could be poisonous if used in the wrong way.  Do you have cleaning products?  Of course you do!  Do you have rubbing alcohol? Medicines and vitamins?  What about mouthwash, laundry detergent, pesticides, batteries or gardening chemicals?

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Most people have a home full of useful and necessary products that, unfortunately, also have the potential for poisoning. This is probably why more than 90 percent of poisonings happen in the home, mainly in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

Take Your Medicines Safely

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American Association of Poison Control Centers, medication mistakes, Medicine safety, National Poison Prevention Week, Prescription medication

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Medication mistakes happen every day to people young and old. The more medicines we take, the more likely we are to make mistakes. It’s just human! We might accidentally reach for the wrong bottle or take a dose twice by mistake. We might forget that we have already taken our medicine for the day. If we’re trying to medicate in the middle of the night, we’re groggy, sleepy and not able to concentrate well or even see the instructions on the package. These very common mistakes can happen to anyone.

If not taken correctly, medicine can be a poison, too!