The holidays have arrived, and can be a joyous time for children and adults alike. But often decorations, entertaining and other festivities can distract parents from taking proper child-safety precautions, especially when it comes to dangerous holiday poisons.

Parents should be aware of these holiday dangers and ways to prevent them:

Food
Food poisoning is very common over the holidays due to large amounts of food around the house. Hot foods should be kept hot, and cold foods should be kept cold. Remove food from the serving table as soon as the family or guests have eaten. Leftovers should be put in small containers in the refrigerator in order to cool quickly. Food poisoning is difficult to diagnose without a laboratory test, but symptoms could include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in small children. These symptoms usually develop six to eight hours after the spoiled food has been consumed. Making your child vomit or using over-the-counter anti-vomiting or anti-diarrhea medication is not recommended.

Alcohol
All types of alcohol are poisonous. After a holiday party is over, be sure to empty all glasses so your child does not sip any alcoholic beverages.

Medications
If holiday guests stay overnight, make sure their medications are out of reach from your children. Heart and diabetic medications are extremely dangerous because these may be swallowed without any obvious outward symptoms.

Tobacco
Tobacco is very toxic. Make sure children cannot get their hands on any guests’ tobacco or cigarettes. Be sure to empty ashtrays promptly, too.

Lead in toys
There is a possibility that lead could be found in children’s toys. Be aware of toy recalls due to the presence of lead.

Plants

• Holly’s bright red berries may intrigue children. Make sure your children do not swallow any of the berries.
• Mistletoe’s berries also can be extremely poisonous. Keep mistletoe out of your children’s reach.
• Poinsettias are not a highly poisonous plant, but if eaten, can cause choking, nausea or vomiting.

Decorations

• Angel hair, a type of garland, consists of spun glass similar to fiberglass and can cause injury to the eyes, skin and even the digestive system, therefore, children should not play with this decoration.
• Artificial trees are not poisonous, but they can be a choking hazard if a piece is swallowed.
• Bubble lights are filled with a liquid such as alcohol or a solvent. Beware of burns and broken glass if a child bites into the bulb.
• Candles can cause serious injuries when swallowed. Most of the scents, colorings and waxes in candles are nontoxic, however, melted wax can cause burns.
• Ornaments primarily are made from thin plaster, glass or Styrofoam® and do not necessarily pose a poison hazard if swallowed. However, if your child puts a piece of ornament in his or her mouth, remove any portion immediately to prevent choking.

To prepare for any holiday poison incidents that could occur, place Wisconsin Poison Center’s toll-free number, 1-800-222-1222, by all phones. Also, make sure babysitters know how to reach you. If you suspect your child has come in contact with a poisonous substance, call the poison center immediately. For more poison prevention information, visit www.wisconsinpoison.org.

Cathy Smith is coordinator of Wisconsin Poison Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, which is the poison control center for adults and children for the state of Wisconsin.





 

It’s a scary statistic, but true: by eighth grade, one in five young people has used an inhalant to get high, risking brain damage and death. Young people can get high on more than 1,000 legal, useful, everyday products.

Inhalants are chemicals that cause a person to feel "high” after inhaling or breathing them in. People might abuse inhalants because they feel pressure from peers. They’re also cheap and easy to find.

Common ways to abuse inhalants include:
• Huffing—Breathing in fumes from a cloth soaked in a chemical.
• Sniffing—Breathing in fumes from an open container or filling a closet or car with vapors.
• Bagging—Placing the substance in a plastic bag and holding it over the mouth and nose.
• Spraying—Spraying a substance directly into the mouth.

Signs of inhalant abuse may include:
• Red or runny eyes or nose.
• Spots or sores around the mouth.
• Unusual chemical breath odor.
• Drunk, dazed or dizzy appearance.
• Nausea, loss of appetite.
• Anxiety, excitability, irritability.
• Disappearance of household products.
• Discovery of chemical-soaked rags, socks or bags.

Abuse of inhalants may cause many harmful effects such as:
• Permanent damage to the nervous system, lungs, kidneys and other organs.
• Coma.
• Sudden cardiac arrest.
• Danger to unborn children when used by pregnant women.
• Poor judgment, vision and coordination, and loss of many other skills needed for safe driving and making safe decisions.
• Increased risk of major depression and suicide.

In addition, mixing inhalants with other drugs, especially depressants like alcohol or tranquilizers is hazardous.

Abused substances include everyday products found in the home. Below is a room-by-room list of examples.

Kitchen
• Butane.
• Cooking spray.
• Correction fluid.
• Lighter fluid.
• Whipped cream propellants.

Bedroom
• Hair sprays.
• Nail glues and polish remover.

Garage
• Gasoline.
• Kerosene.
• Refrigerants.
• Turpentine.
• Carburetor cleaner.

Workshop
• Aerosol sprays.
• Felt tip markers.
• Glues and adhesives.
• Enamel paint and paint thinners.
• Solvents.
• Spray paints.

Prevention is key
Talk with your children. Teach them the dangers of this abuse. Education must start at a young age. Inhalant abuse often begins in elementary school and can lead to further drug abuse, lifelong problems or even death. If you suspect inhalant abuse, consult a school counselor, doctor or drug counseling center.

FAST FACT: Substances commonly found in the home are the most likely agents to be involved in a poison exposure. Toxic products located in the home account for more than 90 percent of poison exposures.

Mark Kostic, MD, is the associate medical director of Wisconsin Poison Center, specializing in medical toxicology and emergency medicine. The Poison Center, located at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, provides 24-hour, toll-free poison information for all individuals in Wisconsin. Anyone who has had direct contact with a known or potential poison can receive immediate advice on what steps to take to prevent injury from that exposure by calling 1-800-222-1222. Translators are available.
 

Food-borne illness can occur in any home. Symptoms of food-borne illness resemble the flu and include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Because of their small body sizes, young children are even more at risk.

These tips about safe storage, handling and preparation of food will help you prevent the spread of bacteria in your kitchen:

• Always wash your hands and cutting boards or other food preparation surfaces with hot, soapy water before preparing any food and after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs.
• Always use a food thermometer when you cook. A food thermometer will help you make sure your food has reached a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria.
• Cook all meat and poultry at an oven temperature of at least 325 degrees.
• Do not thaw raw fish in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. Raw poultry or ground beef will keep one to two days and raw red meat three to five days.
• Thaw frozen foods under lukewarm running water, in the refrigerator or in the microwave. Meats thawed in the microwave must be cooked immediately. Do not thaw foods on the countertop.
• Never put cooked food on a plate that was used for raw meat.
• Always refrigerate leftovers within two hours of eating.
• You can put the kitchen sponge, washcloth or scouring pad in the microwave for one minute or run it through the dishwasher to help prevent bacteria growth.

FAST FACT: Consult your child's doctor if your child has symptoms that include high fever, blood in the stools, prolonged vomiting or signs of dehydration, including a decrease in urination, a dry mouth and throat, and dizziness when standing up.

Heather Fortin, RD, CD, CSCS, CLC, is a registered dietitian with the NEW (Nutrition, Exercise and Weight Management) Kids Program™ at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
 

Spring cleaning is an annual ritual. This year, as you clean and organize your home, keep poison prevention in mind.

Wisconsin Poison Center answers more than 50,000 calls each year concerning potentially hazardous substances and situations. More than 90 percent of poisonings occur at home. Though unintentional poisoning can affect people of all ages, children age 6 and younger and elders who take multiple medications are at high risk. The most common hazards for children include: personal care products and cosmetics, household cleaners, plants and pesticides, and over-the-counter medications such as pain relievers, cough/cold products and multivitamins.

Here’s what to look for:
In the kitchen:
• Keep medications and cleaning products in their original containers with labels intact. Child-resistant caps help, but parents should not depend solely on these. Many children can open them.
• Do not store any medicines on the kitchen windowsill, countertop or top of the refrigerator where children can see or try to reach them.
• Make sure all household cleaning products are stored high, out of children’s reach.
• Install child safety devices on all cabinets as an added measure of protection.

In the bathroom:
• Throw out old medicines by tying them tightly in a nonsee-through bag. Take them straight out to the trash on pick-up day.

In the bedroom:
• Look for any flaking paint on furniture, walls and windowsills. Flaking paint may contain high levels of lead. When considering home renovations, make sure to protect yourself and your family from inhaling or eating leaded paint dust.
• Make sure all perfumes and cosmetics are stored out of reach.
• When guests stay over, ask them to keep their medications out of a child’s reach.

In the laundry room:
• Store soaps, detergents and other products in high, locked cabinets.
• Keep open products with you when using them. If the phone or doorbell rings, take the product with you.

Remember, there are hazards outside the home, too. Outdoor poison exposures increase in warmer months, when children are outside more often and are at greater risk of coming in contact with pesticides, toxic plants, insects and more.

If you suspect your child has come in contact with a poisonous substance, call Wisconsin Poison Center immediately at 1-800-222-1222.

David Gummin, MD, is the medical director of Wisconsin Poison Center, located at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The center provides 24-hour, toll-free poison information for all individuals in Wisconsin. Anyone who has had direct contact with a known or potential poison can receive immediate advice on what steps to take to prevent injury from that exposure by calling 24 hours a day, seven days a week toll-free 1-800-222-1222. Translators are available.

FAST FACT: In 2007, the Poison Center answered a total of 52,834 calls for help and information. Nearly 85 percent of the calls were regarding a poison exposure. Accidental poisoning in the home accounted for 3 out of 4 cases.