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Help us Make a Difference this Week
Poison Prevention Week was established by US Congress on September 16, 1961 as the third full week of March each year to highlight the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them.
Help us raise awareness of poison prevention this week by sharing this enewletter with friends and family.
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| Greetings!
It's time to celebrate the 49th annual National Poison Prevention Week from March 20-26, 2011, and focus on steps you can take to keep yourself and those you care about safe from unintentional poisonings. Any substance, including medications, can become a poison if too much is taken or used in the wrong way. See the top ten ways you can make your home safe by poison-proofing below and make sure you have our helpline number, 1-800-222-1222, on your refrigerator or telephone, as well as saved in your cell phone. |
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Educator retires after more than 10 years at Central Texas Poison Center in Temple  It is with great gratitude and appreciation that the Texas Poison Center Network recognizes the retirement of Carolyn Insall, educator for the Central Texas Poison Center. For more than ten years, Carolyn has touched countless public and professional individuals with her loyalty and dedication to the education and prevention of poisonings. She is well respected for her relentless passion in the promotion of the PoisonHelp Hotline for her 30-county region of Central Texas. Carolyn's accomplishments over the last decade include: - Multiple grants for the creation of children's animated educational activities such as a virtual field trip, and Poison Adventure activities and a DVD video.
- Collaborating with various organizations and businesses to provide the Poison Safety Zoofari for 5 years, establishing Safe-Kids Coalition at Scott & White Hospital, as well as precepting nursing students in the development of medication take-back events for the community.
- Development of the network education materials, strategic planning process and much more.
Although we will miss Carolyn, she has worked hard all her career and has earned the opportunity to enjoy more family time and a little R&R. Please join our network in wishing Carolyn all the best in her retirement. |
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How Safe is Your House? Top 10 ways to Poison-proof your house
- Keep 1-800-222-1222 on or near all phones, and in your cell phone. It's the fast, free, private and 24/7 poison center helpline.
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Keep cosmetics, personal care products, prescription and over-the-counter medicines, cleaning products, dietary supplements and vitamins, pesticides and lighter fluid, locked up or out of reach. Be sure household plants are also out of reach. - Always keep cleaning products, gasoline, lighter fluid, antifreeze, paint and paint thinners in the containers they came in.
- Never put something that is not food in a food or beverage container, such as a soda bottle, cup or glass.
- Do not store food and household cleaners in the same cabinet; they often look alike.
- If you are a grandparent visiting or caring for little ones, put purses or bags that might contain your medication where a child can't reach.
- Put smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home, make sure they work and change the batteries every 6 months.
- Never call medicine candy.
- Do not take medicine in front of children; they love to do what adults do.
- Objects that use small batteries,like toys or remotes, should be kept out of reach of young children. Disc batteries are both poisonous and a choking hazard.
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Medications Remain Leading Cause of Poisoning Deaths in 2009
 Medications remained the leading cause of poisoning deaths in 2009, with most poisoning fatalities occurring among adults, according to a new report by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. In all, U.S. poison centers took more than 4.2 million calls in 2009, treating more than 2.4 million poison exposures and answering more than 1.6 million questions about poisons. The report, based on data from 2009 calls to U.S. poison centers, found that sedatives/hynotics/ antipsychotics; cardiovascular drugs, opioids and acetaminophen combinations were most frequently associated with poison-related deaths. In all, poison centers reported 1,158 poison-related fatalities in 2009.
Children younger than six were involved in the majority of all poison exposures reported to poison centers in 2009, but accounted for just 1.8 percent of poison-related fatalities that year. Most fatalities occurred in people between the ages of 20 and 59. More than 91 percent of all poison exposures occurred in a residence. Most patients were treated at home: More than 72 percent of calls from the general public were managed at home, meaning patients avoided costly emergency care.
Among other findings in the report:
- The top five substance classes most frequently involved in all human exposures were analgesics (11.7 percent); cosmetics/personal care products (7.7 percent); household cleaning substances (7.4 percent); sedatives/hypnotics/antipsychotics (5.8 percent); foreign bodies/toys/miscellaneous (4.3 percent).
- While 91.19 percent of all poison exposures occurred in the home, poison exposures also occurred in the workplace (1.51 percent); in school (1.26 percent) and in restaurants or food service establishments (.24 percent).
The report is based on information from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), which tracks every call made to a U.S. poison center in near real-time, serving as a national resource to collect and monitor U.S. poison exposure and serving as one of the few real-time national surveillance systems in place to track health trends. The full report is available online at www.aapcc.org.
How do I safely dispose of my medications?
Poison centers are proud to announce their support of the next U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Drug Take-Back Event, scheduled for Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. AAPCC encourages people across the nation to participate in this important safety event. More. Find a nearby collection site by visiting www.dea.gov , click on the "Got Drugs? icon, and search by zip code.
 You can also visit www.MedicationCleanout.com for sites sponsored by the Texas Panhandle and North Texas Poison Centers.
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