With the arrival of vacations, children spend more time at home, exploring every corner in search of new toys or adventures. We all know that the kids are unpredictable, so if we do not take care in the storage of certain products, we can expose them to suffer serious risks.
We tell you what are the precautions that we should have when storing medicines and household products, as well as some basic rules to know how to proceed in case of emergency poisoning.
Preschoolers, the most likely to suffer from poisoning
According to the Toxicological Observatory of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Emergencies (SEUP), in 2015, acute intoxication in preschool due to involuntary intake was caused by drugs in 55 percent of cases, and household products in 32 percent. One hundred times.
Poisoning generally occurs accidentally in children between 12 months and five years of age. The products most frequently involved are medicines and household cleaning products.The accidental intake of the most dangerous medicines in childhood is the anti-thermic drugs, especially paracetamol. But it is also common for the child to consume other medicines for adults that we can keep at home, such as anxiolytics, antidepressants, anti-catarrhal drugs ...
As for household products, the most accidentally ingested by children are detergents, caustics (such as unblockers, cleaners, bleach ...), pesticides or insecticides, and cosmetics.
"Fortunately, poisonings have declined in recent years. This reduction is mainly due to prevention measures in causal products, to the improvement in health education and the better access and use of health services" - explains Dr. María Jesús Pascual, head of the pediatric service of the Vithas Nisa Pardo de Aravaca Hospital.
What to do in case of intoxication?
If poisoning occurs it is vitally important know how to act correctly and give as many information as possible to emergency services. These are the guidelines to be followed by experts:
Get in touch immediately with the National Institute of Toxicology.
Identify the toxic you have ingested, try to quantify the intake and warn of the age and weight of the child.
If the poisoning has been due to contact or eyes, the affected area should be washed with water. In any other case, it is better not to do anything without consulting the emergency doctor.
If the poisoning has been due to the intake of a cleaning product Do not give milk or any other food, nor cause vomiting, as it could increase injuries.
When we go to the hospital we must bring the original container of the product or medication ingested, or failing the label. So doctors can determine what the toxic was and proceed to the correct treatment
How to make our home a safe place
We have already seen on several occasions the importance of making our home a safe place for children In order to avoid childhood accidents:
Anchoring furniture to the wall to avoid being thrown over
Protecting plugs and not leaving electrical appliances or mobile chargers plugged in and within reach
Using safety devices for stairs, windows, swimming pools ...
Leaving out of reach very dangerous products such as button cells, plastic bags or certain foods with risk of choking such as nuts.
Paying attention to any small details of our home and its playground that could be a potential danger to them
And of course, keeping all the above-mentioned products safe: out of reach, and if possible locked up.
In addition, Dr. Pascual reminds us of the importance of do not take medicine in front of children (to avoid being imitated) and keep the products in their original containers and with safety plugs.
Photos | iStock, Pixabay
