Jacksonville, Fla. – Every 30 seconds, a child is accidentally poisoned in the United States. As a result, the Florida Poison Information Center (FPIC) at Shands Jacksonville is promoting National Poison Prevention Week March 17-23, which helps raise awareness about ways to prevent unintentional childhood poisoning from medicines and household chemicals. On March 23, the FPIC will have a display table at the Jacksonville Zoo’s “Swinging Spring Break” event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., giving out stickers, magnets and brochures to the public about poison prevention.
Of the 56,000 poison exposures handled each year by the FPIC, 67 percent are children under 6 years old. The most common causes of accidental poisonings of children are cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning substances, medicines and plants.
Here are a few poison prevention tips to help protect you and your loved ones from the risk of accidental poisoning.
- Store medications and household products in a locked cabinet where children can’t see or reach them.
- Poisons should be stored in their original containers.
- Use child-resistant packaging.
- Children learn by imitation. Take medications out of their view.
A new nationwide toll-free poison help number, 1-800-222-1222, kicked off on January 30 to allow for easier access to poison information centers. This number will be the same wherever you go and calls are automatically routed to the closest of 65 centers in the United States.
The FPIC celebrates its 10th anniversary this month and is located on the campus of Shands Jacksonville. It covers 42 counties in the northern and eastern coastal sections of Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The center is responsible for providing emergency diagnostic and treatment information to 139 hospitals as well as more than 120 emergency medical service agencies.