March is poison prevention month

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Since 2010 the CDC reports one of the leading causes of unintentional injury and death in children is poisoning.

Tyler Bowe, a trauma coordinator at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, said most poisonings happen at home and leaving unattended items around the house is what often leads to emergency room visits.

Common items that pose a risk to children are soaps, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies, and detergent. Children may be unaware that these things are hazardous so they may end up mixing cleaning products together, resulting in toxic gases. Products like tide pods or prescription medications may look like candy to children and they may try eating them.

Doctors recommend keeping these products out of reach and using secure packing for potentially poisonous household items.

“Kids love to they love to explore and there’s a lot of ages where they explore with their mouth, so the first thing they do is they grab it and they try it. And while that that can, you know, that’s their way of exploring the world, that can be obviously incredibly hazardous when we’re talking about cleaning products, soaps, medications that mom or dad, grandma and grandpa, brother and sister have that are meant for much larger human beings,” Bowe said.

Some signs of poisoning include burns on the skin, vomiting, trouble breathing, or changes in alertness. If you suspect a poisoning you can call the Wisconsin Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or visit their website. Medical professionals say to visit an emergency room or call 911 if the situation is severe.

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