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United States Consumer Product Safety Commission
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The Kitchen
The Bathroom
The Garage or Storage Area
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Health, Safety, Nutrition and Kids
Related Articles
Patients Be Aware! Do You Know What's Inside Your Medicine Chest?
Baby Safety Checklist
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The home areas listed below are the most common site of
accidental poisonings. Follow this checklist to learn how to
correct situations that may lead to poisonings. If you answer
"No" to any questions, fix the situation quickly. Your goal is
to have all your answers "Yes."
The Kitchen
| Item | Questions | Yes | No |
|---|
| 1. | Do all harmful products in the cabinets
have child-resistant caps? Products like
furniture polishes, drain cleaners and
some oven cleaners should have safety
packaging to keep little children from
accidentally opening the packages. | ____ |
____ |
| 2. | Are all potentially harmful products in
their original containers? There are two
dangers if products aren't stored in
their original containers. Labels on the
original containers often give first aid
information if someone should swallow the
product. And if products are stored in
containers like drinking glasses or pop
bottles, someone may think it is food and
swallow it. | ____ |
____ |
| 3. | Are harmful products stored away from
food? If harmful products are placed
next to food, someone may accidentally
get a food and a poison mixed up and
swallow the poison. | ____ |
____ |
| 4. | Have all potentially harmful products
been put up high and out of reach of
children? The best way to prevent
poisoning is making sure that it's
impossible to find and get at the
poisons. Locking all cabinets that hold
dangerous products is the best poison
prevention. | ____ |
____ |
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The Bathroom
| Item | Questions | Yes | No |
|---|
| 1. | Did you ever stop to think that medicines
could poison if used improperly? Many
children are poisoned each year by
overdoses of aspirin. If aspirin can
poison, just think of how many other
poisons might be in your medicine
cabinet. | ____ |
____ |
| 2. | Do your aspirins and other potentially
harmful products have child-resistant
closures? Aspirins and most prescription
drugs come with child-resistant caps.
Check to see yours have them, and that
they are properly secured. Check your
prescriptions before leaving the pharmacy
to make sure the medicines are in child-
resistant packaging. These caps have
been shown to save the lives of children. | ____ |
____ |
| 3. | Have you thrown out all out-of-date
prescriptions? As medicines get older,
the chemicals inside them can change. So
what was once a good medicine may now be
a dangerous poison. Flush all old drugs
down the toilet. Rinse the container
well, then discard it. | ____ |
____ |
| 4. | Are all medicines in their original
containers with the original labels?
Prescription medicines may or may not
list ingredients. The prescription
number on the label will, however, allow
rapid identification by the pharmacist of
the ingredients should they not be
listed. Without the original label and
container, you can't be sure of what
you're taking. After all, aspirin looks
a lot like poisonous roach tablets. | ____
|
____ |
| 5. | If your vitamins or vitamin/mineral
supplements contain iron, are they in
child-resistant packaging? Most people
think of vitamins and minerals as foods
and, therefore, nontoxic, but a few iron
pills can kill a child. | ____ | ____ |
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The Garage or Storage Area
| Item | Questions | Yes | No |
|---|
| 1. | Did you know that many things in your
garage or storage area that can be
swallowed are terrible poisons? Death
may occur when people swallow such
everyday substances as charcoal lighter,
paint thinner and remover, antifreeze and
turpentine. | ____ |
____ |
| 2. | Do all these poisons have child-resistant
caps? | ____ |
____ |
| 3. | Are they stored in the original
containers? | ____ |
____ |
| 4. | Are the original labels on the
containers? | ____ |
____ |
| 5. | Have you made sure that no poisons are
stored in drinking glasses or pop
bottles? | ____ |
____ |
| 6. | Are all these harmful products locked up
and out of sight and reach? | ____ |
____ |
When all your answers are "Yes," then continue this level of
poison protection by making sure that, whenever you buy
potentially harmful products, they have child-resistant closures
and are kept out of sight and reach. Post the number of the
Poison Control Center near your telephone.
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U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20207
CPSC Publication #383
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