Poisoning Safety...

Ninety percent of the potential poisoning exposures happen in the home.

There has been a change in the demographics of poisoning deaths. Although children are still at risk, it is no longer only small children getting under the kitchen sink. Now children ages 6 through 18 are 13 percent of the exposure and 3 percent of the deaths. There is a rise in unintentional poisoning by adults older than 19 years of age. They comprise 16 percent of the exposures and 97 percent of the deaths. Adults older than 60 years of age represented 16 percent of poisoning fatalities reported to poison control centers.

A number of factors have contributed to this increase in lives saved:

The 1961 Proclamation by President Kennedy making the third week of March National Poison Prevention Week
The formation of the National Poison Prevention Week Council
Increased awareness of the American Association of Poison Control Centers
The Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970

All of these efforts and others contributed to a greater awareness and abatement of the risks of poisoning for small children. However, millions of people are still unintentionally poisoned every year.

More than 4.3 million calls were made to U.S. Poison Control Centers in 2008, according to new data by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Of the calls made in 2008, 13 percent were related to exposure to painkillers, 9 percent concerned cosmetics or personal care products, and 8.6 percent were about household cleaning products. Children younger than 6 were involved in about half of all poison exposure calls.

Although most people think of poisoning as a childhood issue, adults are overwhelmingly the cause for the recent increase in unintentional poisoning deaths. In some states, overdoses have surpassed motor vehicle crash deaths to become the leading cause of unintentional death.

Below you will find links to many different types of poisons and some tips of prevention:

Understanding The Terms

Common Household Chemicals

Types Of Poisons In The Home

Safer Alternatives

Pesticides In The Home

Preventing Hazardous Chemical Poisonings

Disposing of Hazardous Products

Risk Factors In Overdosing on Medications

Preventing Overdoses

Poisonous Plants

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning