'89 "Poison Week" Urges Halt To Child Poisonings, Deaths

WASHINGTON -- An ounce of prevention by parents could have spared about 107,000 children under five years of age from accidentally swallowing poisons around the house in 1987.

As they launched the 28th annual National Poison Prevention Week, March 19 to 25, the co-sponsors - the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Poison Prevention Week Council again warned adults to use safety packaging and to store medicines and household products out of sight and out of reach of young children.

Acting CPSC Chairman Anne Graham said the most frequent accidental ingestions of potentially hazardous products by young children are with medicines and household products such as drain cleaner, paint thinner, furniture polish, and charcoal lighter fluid. Many thousands of children are treated at home by parents who receive instruction from a nearby Poison Control Center.

Since 1972, when safety packaging was first required, deaths from accidental ingestions have declined dramatically. In 1972, 216 children under five years of age died from accidental poisoning; this toll declined to 59 fatalities in 1986.

In an effort to further reduce the number of accidental ingestions, CPSC is funding a research effort at Western Michigan University to develop child-resistant caps which are easier for adults, especially senior citizens, to open.

Sponsors of National Poison Prevention Week offered the following safety tips:

• Always properly re-close safety caps on prescription and other medicines. Uncapped medicine containers create a poison threat to young children.
  
  
• Always re-secure the cap after you have used a household chemical. Many household products come equipped with safety caps. Store all harmful household and kitchen products out of reach of children at all times.
  
  
• Have the number of the nearest Poison Control Center posted near the telephone, in case of an emergency.