Maintaining the Home:
Home Safety
Are Your Children Safe From Poisons?
Since 1990, poison control centers have responded to about one million calls concerning poisonings involving children under age five.
Children can be poisoned by medicines and household products, lead and carbon monoxide.
To protect your family, you should:
- Lock away dangerous substances like medicines, vitamins, beauty products, cleaning supplies and pesticides, even if they are in child-resistant packaging.
- Keep syrup of ipecac (which is available in drug stores) on hand in case of poisoning. Use it only after a doctor or poison control center tells you to use it.
For more information:
- Call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s hotline at 1-800-638-2772 TDD: 1-800-638-8270 or visit their Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
- Call the U.S. Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.
This material was adapted from publications produced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Next: Protecting Yourself Against Burglary
