Preschoolers: Safety Poisoning

Keeping your child safe is a major priority for parents. Here we have many excellent articles that will help parents protect their preschool children. Unlike the other areas at KidSource, we're not rating these articles individually because we think they all are important. The preschool categories are:

• General
• At Home or At School
• Clothing
• Poisoning
• Recreation, Travel and Holidays

We suggest that you also refer to the Product Recall Notices and to our overall list of Safety articles.

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Poisonings Kill About 30 Children Annually Each year, unintentional poisonings from medicines and household chemicals kill about 30 children and prompt more than 1 million calls to the nation's poison control centers. This article aims to help prevent those childhood poisonings by reminding people to check their homes now.

Locked Up Poisons This article is an excellent summary of what parents and caregivers should do to prevent childhood poisonings.

CPSC Testing Finds No Asbestos Fibers in Children's Chalk The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that it has found no asbestos or "transitional" fibers that may appear like asbestos in children's chalk. CPSC tested chalk from five manufacturers that represent the majority of the industry. The chalk included blackboard chalk and jumbo-size sidewalk chalk made by Crayola, Prang, Pentech, Curiosity Kits, and Sketch & Scribble.

Study Shows Dioxin Exposure Related To Adverse Childhood Behavior And Learning Capabilities Children exposed to dioxins in utero during critical periods of development appear to be the most sensitive and vulnerable to the toxic effects.

Prevent Poisoning and Death from Iron Containing Medicine Childhood poisonings caused by accidental overdoses of iron-containing supplements are the biggest concern of poison control experts, consumer protection groups, and health-care providers. Iron-containing supplements are the leading cause of pediatric poisoning deaths for children under 6 in the United States.

CPSC Releases Test Results on Crayons The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released results of tests on crayons after concerns were raised about asbestos in some popular brands. CPSC tests concluded that there is no cause for concern. Parents and teachers can continue to use the crayons they have and purchase crayons from store shelves.

Carbon Monoxide Questions and Answers Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is produced by the incomplete burning of solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels.Every year, over 200 people in the United States die from CO produced by fuel-burning appliances (furnaces, ranges, water heaters, room heaters). This article describes the problem, prevention methods and what to do if you suspect if someone is a victim of CO poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors Can Save Lives The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that consumers purchase and install carbon monoxide detectors with labels showing they meet the requirements of the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) voluntary standard.

Poisonings Kill About 30 Children Annually Each year, unintentional poisonings from medicines and household chemicals kill about 30 children and prompt more than 1 million calls to the nation's poison control centers. This article has an important list of safety tips to help prevent poisonings.

Safety Calendar - A Month of Activities This great calendar has 30 things you can do to safeguard your family. We're all so busy, that we tend to postpone taking these basic steps. This calendar will help by defining discrete and often small things that you can do that could make a big difference in protecting your family. Check it out today!

Warning Issued on 'Chalk' Pesticide; Dangerous to Children U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning the public not to purchase a chalk-like product illegally sold as an insect control for homes, schools, and restaurants. Marketed under several labels, including "Miraculous Insecticide Chalk" and "Chinese Chalk," the product is deceptively dangerous to children as it can easily be mistaken for common blackboard chalk and may be eaten.

Childproofing Your Home - 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children About 2-1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using 12 simple child safety devices on the market today.

Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention is Focus of New Video Preventing childhood lead poisoning is the goal of a new video featuring Loretta Long, Ph.D., who plays Susan on the children's television series Sesame Street. The 10-minute video, developed by the Lead Industries Association (LIA), includes practical tips that parents and childcare providers can follow to prevent lead exposure at home.

CPSC Releases Study on Phthalates in Teethers, Rattles and Other Children's Products The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today released the results of a study of a chemical, diisononyl phthalate (DINP) used to soften some plastic toys and children's products. The study concludes that few if any children are at risk from the chemical because the amount that they ingest does not reach a level that would be harmful. Generally, the amount ingested does not even come close to a harmful level. Therefore, the Commission staff is not recommending a ban on these products.

Toy Manufacturers Agree to Rid Products of Lead Manufacturers of portable cribs and play yards have joined in the effort to warn consumers and childcare providers to stop using the more than 1.5 million portable cribs and play yards that have been recalled in past years. Top rail hinges must be turned to set up the cribs and play yards. These top rails can collapse, entrapping children and suffocating them.

Preventing Childhood Poisoning But home can be a dangerous place when it comes to accidental poisoning, especially accidental poisoning of children. Poison-proofing your home is the key to preventing childhood poisonings.

Hazards at the Plate? Children and Food Safety Risk Ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of foods for infants and children is no exception. Child health advocates, environmentalists, the food industry and others are working with federal authorities to bring the best scientific evaluation possible to pesticides and other food-related risks to children.

Outsmarting Poison Ivy and Its Cousins Approximately 85 percent of the population will develop an allergic reaction if exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Here's some information and tips from the FDA about how to identify and avoid poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, and how to treat the rash if you are exposed.

Preventing Childhood Poisoning Home can be a dangerous place when it comes to accidental poisoning, especially accidental poisoning of children. One tablet of some medicines can wreak havoc in or kill a child. This article from the FDA Consumer magazine covers lead poisoning, poison-proofing your home, signs of poisoning and more. A must read for all parents and those who have young children visiting their homes.

Child Resistant Packaging Saves Lives Consumers should use child-resistant packaging to help prevent accidental poisonings with medicines and household chemicals.

How Much Do You Know About Poison Prevention? When was the last time you cleaned out your medicine cabinet? It's time to push up your sleeves and start your spring cleaning. This article answers some good questions about medicines in the home and how you can better safeguard your children.

Patients Be Aware! Do You Know What's Inside Your Medicine Chest? Do you know if the contents inside your medicine cabinet are hazardous? The Philadelphia Association of Retail Druggists (PARD), a non-profit organization, provides a great checklist of actions you should take to make your home more poison proof.

Proper Diet and Hygiene Can Reduce Risk of Lead Poisoning In this news article, from the Washington State Dept. of Health, the risks of lead poisoning to young children are reviewed and guidelines given to protect children from lead poisoning.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Poison Control Center Launch New Education Program For Children According to the Poison Control Center, more than 90% of poisonings are accidental and occur in the home. This article states that parents can prevent poisonings in the home by following some very simple guidelines, which are included here.

Lead Threats Lessen, But Mugs Pose Problem In this article from the FDA Consumer magazine there is advice for pregnant women, parents of young children and a toll-free number you can call for more information regarding lead poisoning.

Most Commonly Ingested Plants Here is a list of the 20 most frequently ingested plants. Not surprisingly, there is a strong correlation between the list and top sellers in the plant industry. Included are the common names by which these plants are known, the frequency of ingestion, active toxins (if any) and toxic effects.

CPSC Reissues Warning About Carbon Monoxide After a family of five died yesterday from carbon monoxide poisoning, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reissued its warning about the hazard of carbon monoxide (CO).

Safety Alert: Save A Child - Use Child-Resistant Containers A study indicates that all consumers regardless of whether they have young children of their own or not, should always take care to obtain their prescriptions in child-resistant packaging, to close the caps tightly, and to keep medicine stored out of sight and out of reach. Thirty-one percent of all medication involved in the reported accidental ingestions belonged to someone other than the child's immediate family, such as grandparents and other older adults. Additional safety information is also provided in this article.

Poison Lookout Checklist The home areas listed in this article are the most common sites of accidental poisonings. Follow these checklists to learn how to correct situations that may lead to poisonings.

Lead Poisoning Hazard for Young Children in Imported Vinyl Miniblinds After testing and analyzing imported vinyl miniblinds, the U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has determined that some of these blinds can present a lead poisoning hazard for young children. Read this article to find out what to do.

Lead Poisoning Hazard on Public Playground Equipment The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released the results of a report indicating that public playground equipment could have chipping and peeling lead paint, which is a potential lead poisoning hazard primarily for children six years old and younger.

Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home Detailed steps are given to protect your family from lead poisoning, as well as guidelines to follow when purchasing, renting or renovating a home. Extensive contact information is provided for state and federal agencies regarding rules and additional information.

Prevent Poisoning and Death from Iron Containing Medicine The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns that iron medications (sometimes identified as ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate, or ferrous fumarate) can be deadly to a young child. Many adults may not realize the hazard of iron preparations. The Commission recommends that parents keep medicine with iron out of the reach of young children.

Mercury Vapors Are Hazardous U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is alerting consumers that mercury vapors (which have no odor) are hazardous. Some herb-selling shops or "botanicas" sell mercury for use in homes, and some ethnic traditions encourage the sprinkling of mercury around the house for religious reasons. This is hazardous because people - especially young children - could breathe the mercury vapors.

Emergency Physicians Warn of Toxic Car Cleaning Products The American College of Emergency Physicians warns of the dangers to toddlers of a widely available car wheel cleaner. In two separate incidents, toddlers nearly died after coming in contact with a very small amount of the cleaner.