Staff Reports

The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) joins poison centers across the country to observe National Poison Prevention Week beginning Monday.

Since it was established in 1962, health officials hope to raise awareness about the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, poisoning is the No. 1 cause of injury death in the U.S., with most of these deaths attributed to drug and medicine misuse and abuse.

In 2013, U.S. poison centers answered more than 3.1 million calls, including about 2.2 million calls concerning human exposures to poisons. Just under half of all exposure cases managed by poison centers involved children younger than six, but as in previous years the more serious cases occurred in adolescents and adults.

In 2013, 93 percent of human exposures occurred at a residence, but they can also occur in the workplace, schools, healthcare facilities and elsewhere. About 70 percent of the 2.2 million poison exposures reported to poison centers were treated at home, saving millions of dollars in medical expenses. In fact, poison centers save Americans more than $1.8 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there has been a reduction in deaths with all medicines and household chemicals since 1972 when child-resistant packaging was first required. They estimate that “child-resistant packaging for aspirin and oral prescription medicine has saved the lives of about 900 children since the requirements went into effect.”

“Medications and household products used in the wrong way, in the wrong amount, or by the wrong person can be dangerous, and poisonings can happen anywhere to anyone,” said AAPCC President Jay Schauben, in a press release. “The health professionals at America’s poison centers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help those with poisoning emergencies or to answer information questions about medications, household products, chemicals, bites and stings, plants and mushrooms, and many other things. Poison Prevention Week offers us a great opportunity to highlight how people can prevent poison exposures as well as raise awareness about the immediate availability of health professionals at the poison centers.”

AAPCC Executive Director Stephen Kaminski added, “Our nation’s 55 poison centers play a crucial role in keeping Americans safe by providing poison prevention and free, expert information and advice,” said. “In addition to the public, emergency clinicians and pediatricians rely on poison center professionals to help treat their patients. In fact, about 20 percent of all poison center exposure calls come from health care providers. It’s good to know that expert help is just a phone call away when the unthinkable happens. Please program your mobile phone with the Poison Help number and post it on your refrigerator and near your home phone: 1-800-222-1222.”

There are 55 poison center members in the country, which are charged with treating and preventing drug, consumer product, animal, environmental and food poisoning.

 

CLOSER LOOK

This year’s observance will focus on several poison-prevention-related themes:

Monday – Children Act Fast … So Do Poisons

Tuesday – Poison Centers: Saving You Time and Money

Wednesday– Poisonings Span a Lifetime

Thursday – Home, Safe Home

Friday – Medication Safety

 

NUMBERS TO KNOW

National Poison Prevention Week is March 15-21

 

The nationwide toll-free number is 800-222-1222