Greetings!
 
Summer is almost over and school will soon be back in session. A little extra planning is required for children who take medications during the day. Every year the Texas Poison Center Network receives calls from schools and daycare centers about medication being found on floors, in diaper bags, in backpacks or being shared among students.
 
Specialists with the Texas Poison Center Network, say "Parents need to make sure they're following school district policies before sending their kids off to class carrying any type of medication." It is also important to talk with your child about how dangerous these medications are, even if they are sold over the counter. Explain to children that even though medications may make one child feel better, they can make another child very ill, so medications should never be shared with friends.
  
Back to school medication safety tips also include:
  • Always keep medications in their original container and don't mix several different medications into one container.
  • Be familiar with the school's medication policy. Most districts require all medications to be distributed by authorized school personnel. Most policies are going to have you bring the medications to the school nurse and let them distribute the medications. Sending the medication in your child's backpack is not a good idea.
  • Sports bags may contain asthma inhalers, which should never be shared with other people.
5 harmful household products
Most calls to Poison Centers involve kids under the age of 6. Young children are naturally curious and explore their environments by touching and putting things into their mouths.  They learn by imitation, their taste buds are immature and they do not understand cause and effect. The following 5 things are in many households and it may surprise you that they can be so harmful.

 

  1. Nicotine:  Toddlers get into cigarettes, ashtrays and chewing tobacco (which can smell like mint, vanilla or cherry) more often than you may think. Effects of nicotine poisoning include vomiting, sweating, lethargy and tremors in mild poisoning and confusion, paralysis, and seizures in severe poisoning.  As little as one full cigarette, 3 butts, or one piece of nicotine chewing gum swallowed by a toddler can be toxic.  
  2. Lamp Oil: This toxin is an often sweet smelling or colorful liquid found in Tiki torches and decorative oil lamps. If it is ingested and goes straight down the hatch into the stomach and stays there, it is not really a problem.  The issue is when it goes down the wrong pipe and gets into the lungs (known as aspiration). The oily slippery substance gets deep down, causing injury to the lungs and interfering with oxygen transfer to the blood.  Kids can be drawn to lamp oil because it smells good, looks pretty, or because it is in a bottle resembling a beverage. Symptoms include coughing, gagging and severe trouble breathing.   
  3. Table Salt and Baking Soda: There's a salt shaker on practically every dining table in the country and baking soda is known to be useful for everything from baking cookies, to deodorizing refrigerators to cleaning.  Ingesting large amounts of these substances can be dangerous.  Table salt is sodium chloride; sodium and chloride are electrolytes that are crucial in the way our bodies function at the cellular level. As little as 1 tablespoon (ingested all at once) can cause seizures in a toddler and 2 tablespoons can be fatal. One tablespoon of baking soda ingested by an infant is enough to significantly change blood pH=bad news.  
  4. Muscle Rubs like Bengay�: The active ingredient of many muscle rubs is called methyl salicylate. This chemical is very similar to aspirin. Aspirin poisoning causes symptoms such as ringing in the ears, vomiting, drowsiness, fluid in the lungs, and seizures. One tablespoon of extra strength cream is the equivalent to 19 aspirin tablets or 78 of the low dose/baby aspirin tablets.     
  5. Mouthwash: Many mouthwashes contain ethanol, which is the same kind of alcohol that is in beer or wine. Scope� contains 15% alcohol (about the strength of wine) and Listerine � contains 22% alcohol (about half the strength of vodka or whiskey). If a 25 pound toddler drank just 1 ounce of Listerine�, he or she would be legally drunk and drinking 3-4 ounces is enough to cause major toxicity like low blood sugar or coma. Other household substances that contain ethanol include body splash, perfume, aftershave and hand sanitizer.
  
 
 
 
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Have you always heard "leaves of three... let it be?" Unfortunately, poison ivy doesn't have a standard "look." It can look hundreds of different ways. It can also be mixed in with non-poison plants. Sometimes, by the time you get suspicious, it's too late. 

Here's the moral of the story.  If it's shiny and has leaves of three - really let it be! Always wear gloves and never touch anything you can't identify.

 

 Poison Ivy rash is caused by a sensitivity to an oily resin called urushiol, which is found in the leaves, stems and roots of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. At least 50 percent of the people who come into contact with these plants develop an itchy rash. The most dangerous type of exposure occurs when the plant is burned and the smoke is inhaled, which can affect your lungs. 
 

 Mild cases of Poison Ivy rash require no medical treatment.The reaction usually develops 12 to 48 hours after exposure and typically lasts two or three weeks. You can also transfer the oil to other parts of your body with your fingers, however your skin must come in direct contact with the plant's oil to be affected. Blister fluid doesn't spread the rash.

 

 Call your local Poison Center for questions about how to get rid of the itch, how to sanitize your clothes after you come in contact with the plant and any other questions: 1-800-222-1222. 

Don't forget to download our Poison App for smartphones. Simply search for "Poison Help" in the app store.
The call is free...peace of mind is priceless.

Want to save lives? Help us educate the public! 

 

By volunteering at your local Poison Center, you can attend community events to help spread the word about poison safety and prevention. Reach out to hundreds of Texans by teaching children and adults how to identify and avoid poisonings in their homes. Materials and training is provided. Volunteer opportunities are available to fit your schedule.

 

If you would like to volunteer, simply respond back to this email and let us know!