Topeka – It’s National Poison Prevention Week. The Poison Center at the University of Kansas Health System and Safe Kids Kansas want to remind everyone that when life happens, Poison Centers are ready 24/7 with fast, free advice.
The theme for this year’s National Poison Prevention Week is: Prepare. Prevent. Protect.
Prepare – Save the Poison Control number 1-800-222-1222 in your phone in case of an emergency.
Prevent – More than 90% of poisonings happen in the home. To make your home safer, always read and follow directions on labels and keep potential poisons locked up and away in their original containers.
Protect – Seconds count! If you suspect a poisoning, don’t take a chance. Call right away.
Not everyone realizes that Poison Centers are for everyone. While poison centers get more calls about children, the calls about teens, adults, and older adults tend to be more serious. Nearly 60% of calls to the Kansas Poison Control in 2020 involved medicines or pharmaceuticals. However, other common poisons include household products, plants, mushrooms, pesticides, animal bites and stings, carbon monoxide, and many other types of nonpharmaceutical substances.
“The best piece of advice we can give is to program the Poison Help number, 800-222-1222, in your phone and post it visibly in your home. This way you are prepared in the event of a poisoning emergency or simply have questions,” said Stefanie Baines, Education Coordinator for the Kansas Poison Control Center.
Here are the different ways Poison Centers save time, worry, lives and money:
Time
When seconds county, calling a poison center is faster and more accurate than a confusing internet search.
Worry
Calls are answered by nurses, pharmacists, and doctors. We can help in more than 150 languages. Doctors and hospitals turn to us for help every day.
Lives
Whether it’s a question or an emergency, Poison Centers are there with life-saving information when you need it the most.
Money
All calls are free. More than 70% of people who call get the help they need right where they are – saving the cost of a trip to the doctor or hospital.
“It’s also important to know Poison Centers are not just for emergencies. You can call any time for information or advice from experts to keep your family safe,” said Cherie Sage, State Coordinator for Safe Kids Kansas.
If you think someone has been poisoned, call 800-222-1222 right away. Fast, free, expert help is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more information about preventing accidental poisoning visit www.kansashealthsystem.com/poison and www.safekidskansas.org.