Preventing Unintentional Poisoning
http://www.emslive.com/articles/24/1/Preventing-Unintentional-Poisoning/Page1.html
Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P
Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P is president of Emergency Preparedness Systems LLC. EPS helps clients create, design, distribute, and facilitate rapid e-learning for emergency responders. Greg and EPS subject matter experts have authored and edited more than 200 hours of online education programs for first responders, EMTs and paramedics. Greg is a paramedic, Wilderness Medical Associates lead instructor and EMS author. Tell him your e-learning needs at eps411.com. By Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P
Published on 05/9/2008
March 16-22 was National Poison Prevention week. According to a CDC press release: "Unintentional poisoning is second only to motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. Children, adolescents, and adults are all affected by unintentional poisoning.
Preventing Unintentional Poisoning
Elena came out of the bathroom with an empty eye liner container in her right hand, the applicator in her left hand, and a ring of black around her mouth and across her tongue. Elena was just 2 years old and complained that her tongue felt funny.
Panic rippled through the adults in the room. We were vacationing in a remote rural area and it was more than 40 minutes to the nearest hospital. Thankfully, we were had an adequate cell phone signal and we called the National Poison Control hotline. Their treatment advice was simple - wash, rinse, and monitor. Their prevention advice - even more critical - was to ensure that all medications, cosmetics, household cleaners, and other potentially poisonous substances were stored out of the reach of children. Something that we all did at home, but overlooked while staying in the rental cabin.
According to a Centers for Disease Control, (CDC) "Unintentional poisoning is second only to motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. Children, adolescents, and adults are all affected by unintentional poisoning.
More than 23,000 unintentional poisoning deaths occurred in the United States in 2005. Almost all of them were due to drugs. The poisoning death rate has been rising in the United States in recent years. An estimated 703,702 patients were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2006 for unintentional poisonings. Almost 25% required hospitalization or transfer for a higher level of care.
In 2006, poison control centers reported about 2.4 million incidents where people were exposed to poison. About 85% of these exposures were unintentional, and more than 92% occurred in the home.
Just over half the poison exposures reported to poison control centers affect children younger than six years; exposures in this group commonly involve cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning substances, pain relievers, topical medications, foreign bodies, cough and cold preparations, and plants. Adult exposures often include pain relievers, sedatives, or cleaning substances.
The nationwide toll-free number for poison control centers, 1-800-222-1222, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The centers can provide assistance with poisoning emergencies, answer questions about a specific poison, and provide information about poison prevention."
Information about National Poison Prevention Week is available from the National Poison Prevention Week Council website at www.poisonprevention.org. Additional information about poisonings and how to prevent them can be found at www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/poisoning.htm